The Lost is Found
by HelenOfIlium
Summary: Sequel to Never a Moment of Peace. [Takes place two months after the sequel ended] Jak chooses to accept his birthright and take the throne of Haven City. Soon, when he meets the Desert King of Spargus he learns that it might hold the secrets to his unk
1. Responsibility

**The Lost is Found**

**By: HelenofIllium**

**Summary: Sequel to Never a Moment of Peace. Takes place two months after the sequel ended Jak chooses to accept his birthright and take the throne of Haven City. Soon, when he meets the Desert King of Spargus he learns that it might hold the secrets to his unknown past. JK TA TD pairings**

**Okay...so I'm making it so that Jak's not The Mar... and I'm switching a few other details around later...sorry if that confuses anyone!**

**Chapter 1: Responsibility**

Christmas time was welcomed in Haven City for the first time in years. The past Christmases, and all holidays for that matter, could hardly be called happy under the late Baron's power hungry reign. Nowadays, it was a time of great celebration, especially at the Palace.

In the past two months, Torn had fully recovered from the 'incident' and all had put the ordeal behind them. Although, despite everything, there was an important issue that had been brought up by their past tribulation, and it had yet to be solved.

"Our government now is temporary, Jak, you know that. We need _someone_ to take charge," Ashelin said to Jak, folding her arms against her chest.

"Then why don't _you_ do it?" Jak asked, holding and feeding his restless three month-old son.

"You know I can't. No one wants another Praxis as a ruler. Plus, I'm not the one related to Mar..." she said, emphasizing the 'Mar' part.

Jak looked at her as if she had said a forbidden word, "Shhh!" he hushed.

Ashelin moved her arms out of their folded position and slid her hands to her rounded hips, "You haven't told Keira yet?" she said in disbelief.

Jak only looked down and pretended to concentrate on feeding little Trajan.

Ashelin shook her head; "You're just making this worse for yourself, Jak, and everyone else. You're Mar's only living relative..." the red-haired elf stopped mid-sentence and paused before speaking again, "Well, his closest living relative," she motioned to the green-haired baby.

"I didn't ask to be that...I don't want to be in charge of any more lives," he retorted, taking a seat on a nearby armchair.

Ashelin let out a moan of frustration and left the Council-Room, almost knocking down the short-statured Samos over in the process.

"She's right you know," Samos said, walking up to the side of Jak's chair, looking down at his grandson.

"Eavesdropping, Samos?" Jak questioned with a grin.

"Of course not, I just happen to have exceptional hearing," Samos calmly replied, but with a hint of sarcasm.

Jak nodded at the old elf, searching his magnified eyes for some sort of guidance on what to do next.

The elder Sage spoke again, but this time with all seriousness, "You are young Jak, I know. Nineteen years is hardly old enough to experience all that you have. You have to see though, that you were born to do great things, and you have, but you have still yet more accomplishments to be made in the future. You're a natural leader. I know you will do the right thing," He finished, giving Jak a good look in the eye before he turned and left the room.

Jak was now alone, except for his now sleeping son cradled in his arms. Taking care of Keira and Trajan was hard enough, let alone a whole city. He mused to himself. _Maybe I should just tell Keira...Maybe she can help me..._ He stood up. Yes that was what he would do.

Jak opened the door to their spacious apartment-like room and called for Keira. No answer came, but the sound of metal striking metal could be heard. He smiled; of course she would be back there. Ever since he had had one of their large closets revamped into a little workshop for her, Keira hardly spent time anywhere else. Gently, he laid Trajan down in his crib next to their bed. Then, he brushed back his hair with his hand and took a deep breath, walking to the door to her workshop.

He opened the door slowly and peeked in. There she was, tongue sticking out of the side of her mouth in concentration, as she adjusted the nuts and bolts on her Jetboard with her wrench.

"You know, I'm beginning to think you love that wrench more than me," Jak chuckled, making Keira startle and drop her tool.

The green-eyed mechanic turned and smirked at him, "Maybe a little bit," she said jokingly, further emphasizing it by holding up her forefinger and thumb with a little space between them. Jak put his hand to his chest in mock sadness as she stripped off her greasy gloves and threw her arms around her boyfriend's neck.

"How's my baby?" She asked looking into his eyes.

"I just put him to bed. He was fussy all day but-"

"No. You!" She cut him off and giggled, "You've been looking a little distant lately."

"Yeah...I wanted to talk to you...about that," he said, evading her stare.

Oh no, she thought as images of young pink-haired she-elves danced through her mind thinking that he had met someone else. The look of concern shone on her face, "About what?"

"Let's go sit down," he suggested as she let her arms fall from around his neck and followed him out of her workshop and toward their bed.

Once they were situated, Jak delved into how he was the descendant of Mar and heir to the throne of Haven City. It was a relatively short story, but Jak's reluctance to let it be known made it difficult to tell. He finished after about five minutes and looked to Keira as if waiting for an argument to start.

"Why didn't you tell me before?" She asked, no anger in her voice, just curiosity.

"I didn't want anyone to know, or treat me even more different than they already do. After defeating Kor, I thought everything could just be normal, or as normal as if can be for me...I guess I t was hard enough even to accept it myself..." Jak said, struggling to find the right words to explain with.

"So, does this mean...You're technically King or the Ruler or something?"

"Not yet...But that's what Ashelin has been bugging me about. I just don't want the responsibility of so many lives in my hands."

"Jak, there's no one else I could even imagine being more suitable for that than you," Keira tried, rubbing his leg in a comforting manner.

"I just wanna concentrate on you, on Trajan...On us." He said, taking her hand, "But I know what I have to do."

Keira reached up to Jak's face, tracing his jaw line, "That's one of the reasons I love you so much..." She kissed him lightly on the lips, "You always do the right thing in the end."


	2. A Coronation on Christmas

**Here's the next one...! Enjoy!**

**Chapter 2: A Coronation on Christmas**

Jak being the heir to the throne of Haven spread throughout the Palace and into the city like the plague. The young father's already hectic lifestyle was now becoming a blur of scheduling and public appearances. Ashelin had even arranged for his crowning to take place on Christmas day, only three days away, to further elevate the importance of the event.

* * *

"I can't believe you didn't tell me!" Daxter yelled at Jak, who was calmly eating a sandwich.

Jak finished chewing and shrugged at his ottsel friend, "I didn't want anyone to know. Sorry, Dax."

"Yeah...Well...I guess I can forgive you this time...But you'd better make me something important when you're 'high and mighty' King Jak!" Daxter exclaimed loudly, hopping onto the table and standing in front of Jak.

"Sure," he answered, shaking his head with a smile.

There was a moment of silence between the two as Jak continued eating and Daxter moseyed over to the Palace's gigantic refrigerator and chose a bottle of beer half his size.

"So what did ya get Keira for Christmas?" Daxter asked, snapping the cap of his alcoholic beverage.

Upon hearing the question, Jak smacked himself in the forehead, "Shit! I totally forgot!"

Daxter snorted. "Some boyfriend you are...I got my Tessy a new set of gun parts!" he bragged.

"Yeah, where'd ya get the money for that?" Jak eyed him suspiciously.

Daxter's eyes darted from side to side and he folded his arms defensively, "None of your business!" He was evidently guilty of some type of theft.

Jak laughed at his friend, but they swore to himself again when he tried to think of what to get Keira. Soon, a large smile came over the blue-eyed elf as he thought of the perfect gift for the girl he loved.

* * *

Christmas Eve's Day arrived all too soon for Jak and the rest of the Palace's residents. Everyone rushed about, ensuring everything was ready for the ceremony the next afternoon.

Torn, Ashelin, Samos, and Jak all sat around a large rectangular table in the Council-Room discussing tomorrow's events. Distracted, Jak hardly participated in the conversation as the others discussed everything from the Monks' arrival to security measures.

Once they had all been briefed on the nest day's situation, Torn and Ashelin left the room, off to complete some of the business they had just discussed. Noting Jak's lack of discussion and constant fidgeting, the elder Sage smiled.

"Nervous, Jak?

"A little," Jak replied, rubbing his palms together rapidly.

"You'll do fine." Samos comforted, resting his hand on the young warrior's shoulder for a moment before leaving the room.

Once Jak was alone, he spoke aloud to himself, "What makes everyone so sure that I'm going to be what this city needs?"

That night, everyone gathered in the Palace's impressive dining hall for a Christmas Eve dinner. After eating their fill, some chose to go to bed, while others opted to hang around to talk to one another.

Jak and Keira chose the bed route. They laid their son in his crib and tiredly climbed into bed themselves. Both knew Jak would never sleep that night, though. So, they held each other close, talking quietly about memories of Sandover Village, or of their dreams.

"Someday," Keira started, "I won't be the one fixing and building the zoomers, I'll be racing them! And Daddy won't be able to stop me..." she ended with a yawn.

"And I know you'll beat them all," Jak added, running his hands through her hair as she fell asleep in his arms.

* * *

The following morning, the young couple was awoken by the sound of Trajan's cries. Jak groaned as he arose from bed and walked over to his son, picking him up. The baby instantly quieted once in its father's arms. Keira, who had gone to their little in-room kitchen, came back with a bottle at hand. She looked at Jak funny when she saw Trajan's cries at suddenly ceased.

"I...just picked him up and he stopped," he said returning the look and shrugging. _Can't complain about that_, he thought to himself.

Soon enough, the thought of Christmas finally found its way into both of their minds, and they wished each other a Merry Christmas. Still in their night clothes, the little family made their way to the Throne Room where a gigantic Christmas tree stood; Tess and Daxter were already there. Keira and Jak greeted the odd couple with another Merry Christmas and talked with them, waiting for Torn, Ashelin and Samos to join them.

* * *

When all were finally present, the group of elves began to exchange presents with each other. It was an endearing sight to see everyone so happy all at once.

Like he had told Jak, Daxter had gotten Tess a new set of gun parts; and in return, she had gotten him a tiny set of armor, custom made.

"Now I won't have to worry so much when you and Jak go on your little adventures, _shnookums_!" Tess squealed as Daxter tried the livery on.

Torn awkwardly gave Ashelin a present which turned out to be a stunning gold necklace with a single blue-eco crystal. This resulted in their first public display of affection, as Ashelin jumped on Torn, kissing him. He soon returned the favor when he received her gift of a shiny new dagger with his name engraved on the hilt.

Meanwhile, Keira and Jak accepted a good many gifts for Trajan from the others, as well as for themselves. Jak had told Keira he wanted to giver her present last, so she gave him his. She had gotten him a new pair of top-notch boots, and a new jacket, that doubled as very strong and flexible armor. He kissed her affectionately in thanks for his wonderful gifts and whispered in her ear for her to wait just a little longer for hers.

Once everyone else was done opening the presents, they all sat on chairs or floor, toying with their new things and chatting with the others beside them. The young couple sat on the floor, Keira leaning back on Jak's chest between his legs while holding Trajan.

"Is there anything else under there?" Jak asked, pointing to the tree.

Keira leaned forward to check and turned to face him to answer him, but, her tongue seemed to be caught when she saw the little black box Jak held up to her face. She clapped her free hand over her mouth and gasped. Everyone's undivided attention was now on the couple as an air of silence filled the room.

Jak slowly opened the tiny box to reveal an amazing and extremely rare light-eco crystal set on a glittering ring. The sparkle of the precious stone reflected off of Keira's dark green eyes as Jak looked into them.

"Will you marry me?" he asked slowly, and everyone's gaze shifted to Keira, waiting for her answer.

"Of course," she said tenderly, tears welling up in her eyes as she reached her left hand out for Jak to slip the ring on her ring finger.

Keira admired the ring for a moment before they kissed lovingly and all their friends clapped to their left.

"Alright, Jak!" Torn cheered and the now engaged couple broke apart, blushing a little from the reactions of their friends.

* * *

"Are you done yet, Jak!" Ashelin shouted, continuing to knock on his door.

"No...I can't get this thing buttoned...!"

Keira laughed while she tried to help Jak into his clothes for his crowning. When he was finally done, he looked quite regal. Underneath, he wore a simple white long-sleeved shirt, and over that a sturdy, velvet-like jacket deep blue in color with a gold trimming. He absolutely refused to wear anything but his combat boots, but Keira bargained with him to at least wear a pair of black slacks.

"And you're not wearing those goggles!" Keira said, snatching them off his head with a giggle.

"Fine...but what about you? Plan on wearing your PJ's?" Jak asked, pointing out her current attire.

"I still have time...but you don't. You have to go meet King Damas."

"Who?" Jak questioned while fixing his hair in the mirror.

"Weren't you listening to Ashelin at all? He's the King of Spargus, a city in the Wasteland, remember?" Keira replied in an informing tone, "Now go!" she playfully pushed him out the door.

* * *

"So...This is the great warrior we've heard about in the desert!" Damas offered out his hand, "Good to finally meet you, Jak."

"And you...erm, your Highness," Jak stuttered, shaking his hand.

"You are to be King, too. We have no use of formalities between us," Damas smiled.

Interrupting the two, Ashelin waked up to them. She bowed politely to the desert King and motioned for Jak to follow her, signaling it was time. Damas nodded and turned to go down another to the Palace Hall with his entourage following him loyally.

"Where's Keira?" Jak asked nervously as they walked.

"She's waiting for you at the balcony entrance to the Hall. You two will walk in together and from there, you know the drill," Ashelin replied calmly.

Inside the Hall, hundreds of nobles and the 'higher ups' in society waited for the crowning of their new king. Outside, the rest of the citizens of Haven watched on a large hologram screen just outside the Palace doors. Security was high, as there were still a few loyal to the late Baron who might look for a chance to show their disdain for a new ruler. Torn stood at the main entrance to the Hall, radioing to his stationed security KG's and ID'ing the guests.

The Hall itself was immensely large and beautifully decorated for the occasion. Opposite the main entrance was a balcony with a stairway leading down to the main floor where tables now filled the area with waiting guests.

At the table nearest to the stairway that Jak would soon descend, Daxter sat, along with Tess, Ashelin, Samos who held Trajan, Onin, and her translator, Pecker. The elf that had made done the seating arrangements had made a big mistake putting the two animals at the same table. And, after a few rounds of drinks, the two began a heated argument about feathers versus fur.

Fortunate for all, their quarreling was soon silenced by a spot light being directed to the balcony and all other lights being dimmed.

On the arm of Jak, Keira could be seen first in her long and elegant royal blue dress. When Jak, too, walked into view, it was clear that the young elf was truly meant to be a leader.

Smiling, the couple continued on down the stairs and stopped after the last step, although still slightly elevated about the floor. They were joined by three monks and Keira stepped aside. She watched as two of the three monks performed various hand movements in front of Jak and chanted some odd language. The third monk, named Seem, whom Jak had met the previous day, held an impressive crown and nodded, signaling for Jak to kneel. He did so, and Seem spoke something in the Precursorian language before placing the crown atop his head.

Keira rejoined her fiancée as he stood up. The monks moved aside, allowing for all to see their new King of Haven City.

* * *

**Hope the engagement thing wasn't too obvious or cliché. Let me know what you think!**


	3. Allies

**Thanks for all the reviews guys!**

**And, JakRox – I mentioned at the start of the story that I was going to change the detail that Jak was 'The' Mar. And also, I didn't think Keira really knew about Jak being Mar or anything at the end of Jak 2...but I could be wrong, it's been a while since I played it, but thanks for reviewing!**

**Now on to the story...!**

**Chapter 3: Allies**

Almost one year after the dictator Baron Praxis's demise, the Mar line regained the throne. The new nineteen-year old King seemed overwhelmed with the duties that accompanied the job. The night of his crowning had hardly been a celebration for him, seeing as virtually the whole time he had someone to meet or discuss 'important matters' with; though, he did catch a break when he met up with King Damas once again. Despite their age difference, they had many things in common.

"You and I," the older king began, "we are warriors, natural leaders. And together, we will be a force to reckon with. I have many things to discuss with you, Jak," he had said to the younger king.

Jak graciously offered him a place at the Palace, as was expected, and of course, Damas accepted.

The morning after, December 26th, Jak woke up grudgingly, knowing well that the list of things 'to do' Ashelin would have concocted would be long.

Ten minutes passed as Jak enjoyed the silence before he heard his son begin to stir in his crib. Carefully, so as not to disturb his sleeping fiancée, he rose from bed and slipped on one of his shirts from the floor. Out of habit, he walked into their kitchen and warmed up a bottle. Still a little groggy, he tested the formula on his wrist and went to little Trajan.

As he fed his infant, he wondered why no one had come to wake him up yet. His answer came when he looked to a clock on the wall and noticed it was only six in the morning.

"Well, duh," Jak signed aloud, watching Trajan's small hands try and grip the bottle. "Can't believe you're three months old...but then again, I can't believe I'm the King of a city, either," he spoke to his son with a laugh.

The proud father looked around the room until his gaze fell on the beautiful dress Keira had worn the night before, haphazardly strewn on the floor along with his boots and pants. Last night had ended well, he thought as a cocky grin crept across his face.

Jak finished feeding Trajan and put him back to bed. Thinking of doing a little wandering until everyone woke up, he started for the door. On his way out, he stopped in front of the dresser where he had carefully laid his crown last night. It was simple, made of gold and holding one blue diamond in the center, with two rubies on either side, but it gave off the definite sense of power that came with Jak's new title. He put it on top of his head and stared at himself in the mirror. Personally, he thought he looked like an idiot, but Keira had insisted he looked very handsome with it. Shrugging, he took it off and left the room.

Soon, he found himself in the Palace's large kitchen. He was greeted by a young maid as he walked in and headed for the huge fridge. He looked around inside the fridge, trying to decide what he wanted. He blue eyes fell on a beer, _What the hell...I'm King, and I'm probably gonna need it anyways..._ he thought to himself and grabbed the beer. Loudly, he snapped off the bottle's cap on the side of the marble counter and sat down at the long table in the middle of the room and took a gulp. Jak let out an audible 'Ah' as he swallowed the drink.

"A morning drinker?" A powerful voice laughed from across the room.

Jak looked to the door and saw Damas standing there.

"Only on special occasions," Jak replied sarcastically.

"I know what you mean," Damas walked toward him, taking a seat next to him and asking a nearby maid to get him a beer like Jak's.

And so, the two Kings, old and new, drank and talked together at 6:30 in the morning. They exchanged their many stories of battle and Damas asked about Jak's personal life and Keira. They soon came upon the subject of Trajan.

"Ah, you have a son? What is his name?" Damas asked eagerly.

"Trajan. He's three months old now," Jak smiled, taking another sip of his beer.

"You're so young to already have a child," Damas eyed Jak curiously.

Jak laughed, "Yeah, it wasn't exactly planned that way."

The desert king smiled, "I was also young when my first was born," but then he face became blank, "I had two sons, once," He cleared his throat, "but they were taken from me, kidnapped."

"I'm sorry," Jak said solemnly, shuddering to think of his own son suffering that kind of fate.

They drank in silence for a few moments before Jak remembered Keira, and that she would worry if she woke up to an empty bed.

"I have to go," Jak said, rising from the bar stool he was sitting on.

"We will talk of business later," Damas looked at Jak who nodded a yes in reply and then left.

* * *

When Jak returned to his room, he was thankful that Keira still lay sleeping.

Stealthily, he crawled onto the bed towards the sleeping Keira that lay tangled in the sheets. He nibbled her right ear teasingly, trying to wake her up, and eventually, succeeded.

"Why so early, Jak?" she mumbled.

"I wanted to talk before I have to start Ashelin's no doubt horrifying schedule for me," he said, pulling her close to himself.

The young couple started a random conversation, talking about a few different things until their engagement came up.

"I can't believe we're going to be married!" Keira squealed happily, putting out her left hand and admiring her ring.

"I love you," was all Jak said, taking her raised hand and pressing it to his lips.

"You're cutting your hair, you know that, right?"

"Wait...What?" Jak almost shouted, giving her a wild look.

Keira giggled girlishly, "For me, for our wedding," she said giving him a pout.

He couldn't resist, "Alright, but just for you," he gulped and smoothed back his long hair, hoping to find a way out of that later on.

* * *

Jak had been right about him having many things to do that day. The first thing on the agenda had been a meeting with Ashelin, Torn and a few elderly council members on the continuation of rebuilding the city. Jak's main concern on that subject was fixing up the destitute area known as 'the slums'. He also made sure that the remnants of Praxis's dictatorship were to be torn down.

Later, as Damas had said they would, he and Jak had a long talk about each other's own military and the continued war against metal-head invasion. Damas, however, had other problems as well, involving the desert marauders that waged raids on Spargus relentlessly.

"Before the treachery of Praxis, Haven and Spargus came to each other's aid when needed," Damas continued, "Even with the hardened Wastelanders under my command, Spargus suffers."

Jak nodded, taking in this new information as the desert king went on.

"That is why I want Spargus and Haven to be allies once more. Together, we will be invincible," Damas put out his hand and Jak willingly shook it firmly.

Moments later, the two Kings were joined by Keira and a woman that Jak did not know.

"Ah, Jak, this is my wife, Claire," Damas introduced the dark-green haired elf with stunning blue eyes. She looked maybe ten years younger than Damas, but it didn't seem to matter to either of them.

Jak introduced Keira and once they were all acquainted, they sat down, waiting for lunch to be served. The conversation mainly consisted of small talk, with Claire never speaking a word.

"When you've become more adjusted Jak, I would like for you to come to Spargus, along with Keira and your son of course," he gave Keira a smile, "So I can return the favor, and show you my kingdom."

"We would love that!" Keira exclaimed, exchanging a glance with Jak. He knew that she had wanted a break from the filthy air of Haven for quite some time now.

"Yeah, that would be great," Jak agreed.

"Good, we'll look forward to it," Damas took his wife's hand and she nodded with a smile.

* * *

**Hope that was up to standards! Tell me what you all think of it!**


	4. Basic Training

**Chapter 4: Basic Training

* * *

**

On the morning of New Year's Eve, early and cold, Torn had taken an outfit of new recruits to training camp located in the forest. Being the hardened solider that he was, the cold and snow did little to affect him, though. He watched as the soldiers-in-training went through the obstacle course that he and Jak had designed to test their skills. Torn shouted tough 'encouragement' to the men while, unnoticed, a silent figure crept up behind him. Silently, she walked through the fresh snow with out a noise and formed her hand into that of a figure of a gun, pressing it to his upper back.

"Bang," Ashelin said suddenly.

Surprised, Torn spun around so fast that he fell backwards into the wet snow. Ashelin laughed and offered him a hand to help him up. In the background a few recruits had stopped to watch their General fall. Brushing himself off, Torn heard their snickers and turned towards them.

"Double time, now!" he yelled at them, then faced Ashelin again.

"Sorry I _scared_ you," the governess giggled.

"You didn't scare me...Just caught me off guard," Torn stated, clearly a little embarrassed. She reached for his hand, but he pulled away quickly.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, thinking he was mad at her for some unknown reason.

"No," he replied frigidly, not looking at her.

Silence followed for a while before Ashelin spoke again, "I have to go," she mumbled, leaving his side and flying off in her red hellcat cruiser.

* * *

"I just don't understand it Keira, The tension between us is so thick that you could cut it with a knife," Ashelin said to Keira as they browsed through a bridal shop nonchalantly.

"You two seemed fine on Christmas. Him giving you that necklace for Christmas was pretty special," Keira tried to comfort while holding a gown up to her body, "What about this one?"

"I think," she toyed with the necklace from Torn and looked over the dress, "that we might have to hold Jak back once he sees you in it."

"Good...I'll take it!" she said excitedly to a nearby salesperson, handing the dress to him and turning to Ashelin.

"I thought it meant he really wanted to be with me...but evidently _not_," The red-haired elf signed sadly.

"I think Torn just has some serious 'relationship' issues. I'll have Jak talk to him..." Keira said in a determined tone.

* * *

"Guys just don't talk about that stuff, Keira...And why would he want relationship advice from someone who's five years younger than him?" Jak whined after she told him to talk to Torn.

"Please, Jak," Keira jutted her lip out slightly, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Do I still have to get a haircut?" the blonde King tried to bargain. His only response was an unyielding look from his emerald eyed fiancée. "Fine...I'll try," Jak said, beaten.

"Thank you," Keira said, kissing his neck.

* * *

Thanks to his stealth and cleverness, Jak managed to snag one of the Palace's zoomer bikes, something he had been denied of as King, doomed to be driven and escorted everywhere.

Torn was easy enough to find, as he was always at the training camp lately, seeming to have developed an overzealous work ethic.

Jak landed his zoomer on the ground nearby a large tent where several KG Commanders lounged about.

"Where's Torn?" Jak asked one of the elves.

Seeing their King suddenly addressing them, they rose clumsily and bowed to him. One pointed in the direction of their General and Jak saw his tattooed friend instructing on the use of rifle blaster.

He walked towards Torn and thought to himself how much he hated formalities and the bowing. He had already spoken to all his friends about not treating him different in those ways, and to his relief, they complied.

Jak watched as one of the soldiers, not following Torn's commands, missed all the targets set up. He stopped the recruit that was even younger than himself and borrowed his gun to show him.

"Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast," he said simply as he nailed all of the targets, causing Torn to look around for the mysterious sharpshooter.

* * *

**I know...borrowed that line from SWAT...or was it Black Hawk Down?

* * *

**

"Jak?" Torn spotted him as Jak gave back the rifle, "What are you doing here?"

"I have to talk to you," Jak signed in discontent.

Torn called a commander towards him and told him to supervise the newbies as he walked with Jak towards the edge of the creek that ran all through the forest.

"So what's going on? You act like we're going to war or something," Torn said.

Jak shook his head slowly, "What's up with you and Ashelin?"

Torn shot him a defensive look, "What? Did she put you up to this?"

"Actually, Ashelin asked Keira who put me up to this," Jak said looking at Torn with a 'just answer the question' look.

"Me and Ashelin...We're fine..." The dreadlocked elf looked away.

"Not the way I hear it...Don't you _like_ her?"

Torn quickly faced the young King again and spoke rapidly, "Of course I like her...A lot...I just...have other things on my mind."

"Well, you'd better show Ashelin a little something...because I don't want Keira worrying about you two on top of everything else she already worries about," Jak said, beginning to turn away, signaling the end of the conversation.

"Hey, Jak?" Torn called after him as the younger elf walked away. Jak stopped and looked at him, "You never knew your parents, right?"

It was an odd and personal question, Jak just shook his head in a silent 'no'.

"Doesn't that...bother you at all sometimes?" Torn asked, a twinge of emotion leaking into his voice.

Jak had never really thought about his parents before, as he didn't remember his father or mother in the slightest bit. "No...I've always had Keira, Samos, or Dax around, they _are_ my family," Jak looked at the ground before glancing back at Torn, who was now walking away speedily.

He shrugged. He had done what Keira asked.

* * *

"Other things on his mind?" Ashelin repeated what Keira had told her.

"And Jak said that he asked him if not knowing his parents bugged him," Keira said, trying to help piece together the puzzle that was Torn.

"Oh, no, I'm horrible!" Ashelin suddenly shouted, slapping her hand over her eyes.

"What? What is it?" Keira asked.

"You can't tell anyone I told you this..." Ashelin paused, she sounded like an old, gossiping woman, she thought to herself, "but around this time, ten years ago, Torn was found in an alleyway, knocked out...The Krimzon guard threw him into the army because he couldn't remember anything...not even his own _name_..." Ashelin whispered.

Keira gasped, "That's horrible..."

"I'm so stupid for thinking we could have something...He's known nothing but the military for all he can remember," Ashelin said, crestfallen.

"No...I think he just needs a little 'training' in the relationship department," Keira comforted.

* * *

**Ugh... I feel like Ashelin sounded so out of character in this chapter...:(**

**So yeah this was just a little peek at Torn and Ashelin...More of them to come along with more Jak and Keira. **

**Soon I'll get to the action parts...its taking me longer than I thought! **

**So tell me what you thought about this one & leave me some reviews! Thanks all!**


	5. New Year, New Problems

**Chapter 5: New Year, New Problems

* * *

**

Torn, Ashelin, Jak and Keira waved King Damas and his wife off as a sky car took them back to Spargus City. Since it was New Year's Eve, they all planned to go down to the Naughty Ottsel and join Daxter and Tess for a little celebration.

It was nearing 11 o'clock at night and the group of friends were the bar's only occupants, except for a few bodyguards that stood outside because of Jak. He was thankful though, that he was able to 'act his age' a bit and put aside hid duties as a King for a night.

Inside the Naughty Ottsel, Torn and Jak gravitated towards the bar where Daxter lay, guzzling beer like it was the elixir of life. Meanwhile, the ladies stayed towards the middle of the room, enjoying their own cocktails and chatting about the coming wedding, or to be more exact, who the maid of honor would be.

Jak nudge Torn's arm with his elbow, motioning with his head towards the girls, "She's been looking at you all night...Just go over there and patch things up."

Torn just looked away, taking another shot.

Jak shrugged and went towards Keira, grabbing her waist from behind and pulling her away from everyone else. Tess and Ashelin continued to 'calmly' discuss who should be maid of honor until the sound of broken glass and the cry of an ottsel resounded throughout the room.

"Oh, my poor Daxter!" Tess shouted as she ran behind the bar to retrieve the fallen rodent.

Ashelin took a chance and sat on a bar stool next to where Torn was leaning.

"Hey," she said in a calm, but flirty tone.

"Hey," Torn replied with a slight grin after he downed another shot.

"It's almost time guys!" Jak shouted suddenly, "Grab your glasses, and Torn, bring that champagne, we're going outside!"

Torn and Ashelin exchanged a quick glance. Feeling more confident, probably due to the four round of drinks he had had, the KG General slipped his arm casually around Ashelin's waist as they all walked outside.

Many of Haven's citizens were outside around the port already; they all wanted to see the firework show that their new King had arranged for them. The group of friends found an empty section of the street with an open view of the whole port. They sat on the edge so their feet dangled over the water, each sitting next to their match, or in Daxter's case, Tess cradling his drunken self in her arms.

All watched as a large number 10 exploded brightly in the sky, signaling the countdown for the New Year. Subsequently, a nine followed, then an eight, and so on. The group poured champagne in their glasses and quietly breathed the numbers in unison with the fireworks. At one, rockets filled the sky, exploding in colors of green, blue, red and many more. They brought their glasses together in cheers and drank to the year of 4725. Keira and Jak gave each other a fervent New Year's kiss, while Torn and Ashelin looked into each other's eyes, both waiting for the other to make a move. Torn stared as the lights from the fireworks reflected off of Ashelin's light green eyes, and moved his face in closer to hers. She met him halfway as the tattooed pair shared a short, but loving kiss.

"I'm sorry," Torn whispered when they broke apart.

Ashelin shook her head, "You have nothing to be sorry about," and she leaned in to kiss him once more.

"Get a..._hic_...room, Jak!" Daxter slurred, pointing to the couple that continued to make-out in front of everyone.

* * *

The fireworks and cheers soon faded and the crowd began to disperse and Torn called in for a carrier to take them all back to the Palace.

When they arrived back at home, the young King Jak and his soon-to-be Queen returned to the room to continue their 'festivity' as seeing as Samos was babysitting Trajan. Tess and the now passed-out Daxter made for their room, too.

A certain KG General did not return to his quarters, although. Instead, he opted to be led to Ashelin's room.

Unlike the still-teenagers Jak and Keira, the older couple chose not to take the next step, and to just fall asleep in the comfort of each other's embrace.

* * *

Early the next morning, Jak and Keira were rudely awakened by a guard at their door. Jak hurriedly answered the door grumpily.

"Your Highness," the young elf bowed hastily and continued, "An urgent call from King Damas. He says he needs to speak with you right now."

"Get Torn and tell him to meet me in the Communications Room," Jak said, heading for said room, guessing on what the call was about.

When Jak arrived at the Comm. Room he was 'greeted' by the grave face of Damas.

"Jak," the holographic face said with some relief, "We have just suffered a terrible raid by the Marauders. They did great damage to the entrance to Spargus. My Wastelanders are too few...We need Haven," the Desert King spoke slowly as if killing his pride.

"We'll be there as soon as we can, Damas," Jak assured and the call ended abruptly in static. "Where the hell is Torn?" Jak shouted, looking around the room.

"General Torn wasn't in his room..." A jittery KG answered.

"Check Ashelin's room then!" he shouted again, growing angry and frustrated wit the loss of time.

Jak jogged down the halls as he headed back towards his room.

He explained to Keira that he was going to send Torn ahead with the main army in the KG carriers and follow after them.

"I'm coming with you, then," she said receiving quiet a look from Jak.

"You are not! It's too dangerous...Maybe when we have it under control..." he said as she put on his jacket from Christmas.

"I am going with you. I'm not letting you leave like this again without me," she stated stubbornly, grabbing her boots.

Jak was about to give a counter-argument, but a shirtless Torn rushed in their room.

"Torn, what the-? I hope you had a good night last night, because you need to get that army moving _now_!" Jak commanded loudly, almost in a yell and Torn rushed back out, not having said a word, just nodding in comprehension.

Jak grabbed his mod-gun out from underneath the bed and with Keira, headed for the Throne Room.

In the Throne Room, the couple met up with Ashelin and Daxter who was sporting his new ottsel armor.

"What's the plan, Jak?" Ashelin asked, a radio at hand ready to tell Torn his orders.

"Fight off what's left of the enemy forces at Spargus and prevent any from getting into the city. Damas said their gate was damaged to we need to buy them some time to fix it." Jak ordered as Ashelin repeated the message into the radio. "And we're going to need some engineers to help repair that gate, probably," Jak thought aloud.

Keira cleared her throat loudly as a ploy to get Jak's attention.

"What?" he asked.

"I think that's where _I_ come in! ...Just let me get me tool box!" she hurried off back to their room.

Jak sighed in defeat. There was no winning an argument with a woman.

* * *

To Jak's dismay, they arrived at Spargus after Torn and his troops had already run of the remnants of the Marauders' attack.

As they landed by the battered gate, Jak turned his gun's safety on with a sigh. Once on the ground, Keira, Jak, Daxter, and Ashelin met up with a dusty Torn and a bloodied Damas.

"Thank you, Jak," Damas breathed heavily as they walked into the city, avoiding the sparks emitting from the first gate.

Keira released her grip of Jak's hand and with her tool box, headed for a group of engineers that had arrived before her.

Damas continued to lead torn, Ashelin and Jak with Daxter on through a second gate, where they were presented with four strange creatures with saddles attached to their backs.

The Wasteland King mounted his and turned to see the hesitation on the others' faces.

Damas let out a weak laugh, "They're called Leaper Lizards, our main source of transportation inside the City."

Torn took a step towards the red lizard in front of him and cautiously grabbed the reigns and mounted it, followed by Ashelin doing the same.

Jak still looked at his warily, "Is it anything like riding a Flut-Flut?" he asked, reminiscing on his bad past experience of being thrown into the tar at Boggy Swamp by the baby Flut-Flut almost four years ago.

"A Flut-Flut? Those have been extinct for -" Torn said confused.

"Never mind," Jak said, realizing the pointlessness of the question and hopping on his large green lizard, Daxter on his shoulder.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Reviews please!**


	6. Two Sides of Fate

**Finally, I get to some action in this chapter! Sorry it took so long! This was one of my favorites to write, hope you guys like it! **

**Remember: In my story Jak is just _related_ to Mar.**

**Chapter 6: Two Sides of Fate**

Even after the gate was repaired and the Marauders didn't appear to be coming back at the moment, Keira, Jak, Ashelin and Torn chose to stay in Spargus. The four were all in agreement that the city was much more beautiful than Haven and a good change of scenery.

It was January 3rd, but warm and humid in the desert. Samos had just arrived with Trajan and King Damas, Keira and Jak greeted them as the Sage stepped out of the sky car. Keira quickly scooped up her son and kissed him; it had been a while since the parents had seen their son.

"He looks like you, Jak," Damas said admiring the baby for the first time. Jak smiled happily in return, tugging playfully at Trajan's foot.

Kissing Jak on the cheek affectionately, Keira then whispered that she was going to go and talk with her father. The young King of Haven was only too glad to take his son on a little walk.

Damas joined the father and son, and they walked out to the middle of the city where the sea pounded on the cliff faces, sending the spray into the air. Jak breathed deeply, letting the fresh, salty air fill his lungs. He looked at the tall, imposing King walking next to him, and seeing a troubled look on his face, asked the obvious.

"Is something wrong?"

Damas seemed to snap out of a daydream, shifting his gaze to the ground, "Its Claire...This time of the year..." he didn't finish but Jak looked at him, his look urging the Desert King to go on.

"January 14th would be my youngest son's seventh birthday...It was her only child...She hasn't dealt with it well these past two years since he went missing..."

"Oh...The 14th is my birthday too..."Jak said sort of off subject, but then he thought of something, "I thought you said you had two sons?" he asked.

"I do...did...Claire is my second wife...My first died soon after my oldest son, Mik, was taken."

"You mean they were kidnapped at two different times?" Jak said, slightly shocked.

"Yes...Five years apart...Mik was taken when he was fourteen...and Mar, when he was only five..." Damas replied, trying to keep himself from getting emotional.

_Mar? Five years old? _Jak thought to himself, thinking what a bizarre similarity that was. _What if-?_

"Come with me..."Jak said, still trying to unfurl the mystery..._Could that little boy...be him? Son of the Wasteland King?_ He needed to talk to Samos, now.

Jak sped off, holding Trajan tightly as he headed towards the lavish quarters that Damas had put them in. Confused, Damas asked what they were doing, but received no response.

Hastily, Jak walked in the door of a building nearby Damas's own Palace. He knocked on his and Keira's room door loudly, not even waiting for an answer before he walked in.

"Jak, what are you doing?" Keira asked inquisitively as he pushed Trajan in he arms and marched towards her father.

"Samos!" Jak said with a wild look in his eye, Damas still following him, "How old was I when you took me from Haven...to Sandover?"

Samos looked surprised at the off question and looked upwards in thought, tapping his chin.

"Well if the date inscribed on the back of your amulet was correct, you had just turned five. Why?"

"A Seal of Mar Amulet?" Damas almost shouted, coming out in front of Jak, getting in the old Sage's face.

"Yes..." Samos didn't understand where this was all leading to.

The older King stared at Jak, studying his features, which were much like his own, despite his own graying hair.

"But how? You cannot possibly be-" Damas looked back and forth between Jak and Samos. Keira stood on the side, just as confused as her father.

"Damas," Jak spoke, gaining everyone's attention, "I was taken by Samos back in time...I don't know how to even explain this without sounding completely crazy, but..." Jak watched as the perplexed King stared at the Green Sage with a fuming glare. "No! Samos didn't _kidnap_ me, he found me in Haven..."

Samos added a nod in agreement.

"Somehow...we," Jak motioned to Keira and Samos, "Came forward in time...back to Haven almost three years ago..." Jak continued on about his two years of hell and torture in jail and the rest of his adventures with the Underground, along with taking down Kor and discovering part of his past and his younger self.

An hour later, Damas's mouth hung ajar with all the things he had just learned. His son, even thought fourteen years older than he was supposed to be...was alive, standing right before him; King of the neighboring City.

_How could I have not seen it before..._He thought to himself. He took a step towards Jak, a little uneasy at first, but then went forward and embraced Jak in a 'manly' hug.

Surprised at first, he just patted Damas on the back in return; but then he thought about it, _This is my father, _and hugged back with feeling.

"Claire...your mother," Damas began, suddenly pulling back from their embrace and gripping Jak by the shoulders, "We must tell her!"

The desert King turned around quickly to go out the door and almost bumped into Keira. She flashed him a megawatt smile and held up Trajan towards him slightly.

"I have...a grandson..." Damas said slowly, taking the baby. He had almost forgotten with all the excitement with finding out about Jak.

Keira walked over to her husband-to-be and kissed him on the cheek. The mechanic could tell by his twitchiness how thrilled and happy he was to find his parents, however odd the circumstances were.

* * *

When they told Claire, they got much the same reaction as Damas had had.

The silent Queen seemed to awaken from her depressing trance and became quite lively. She looked her son over noting his green roots, which had doubt come from her. Claire threw her arms around Jak and began to cry. It was so strange...Having seen her son two years ago at age five, then seeing him in front of her now almost 20 years old.

"I can't believe it..." Claire said as she backed up from Jak and took her husband's arm, smiling up at him.

Jak smiled at the happy scene that played out before him until he heard something odd, like a low rumble coming from outside. Damas noticed the change in his expression and began to also hear the growing noise.

The walls vibrated slowly, and loose rubble began falling from the ceiling. Jak's communicator began to ring and the two Kings exchanged worried glances. He picked it up and hear the familiar sounds of chaos in battle.

"Jak!" Ashelin's voice filled the room followed by static.

"Ashelin?" Jak called back in the comm.

Two guards barged in and bowed before Damas, signaling something was definitely going on. The older King grabbed his large gun, one that much resembled Sig's peacemaker, and adjusted the armor on his chest. He looked over to Jak who kissed Keira on the forehead and patted his son on the head.

"Stay here with Claire. I love you," Jak said to her and caught a gun that the older king had tossed to him.

* * *

Damas and Jak hurried down to the city followed by several Wasteland guards. A twinge of fear gripped the King of Spargus as he was told and saw that a mass of Marauders had infiltrated the city. All around, flaming boulders were hurtling at the city, destroying everything.

Thank the Precursors that Jak had decided to let several troops of Krimzon Guards stay in Spargus, or the city would already be lost.

Old habits die hard as Jak engaged himself in the fight. It was no surprise when he had already shot down eight Marauders by the end of five minutes; he had been itching to use a gun on real targets for quite some time now.

The blonde warrior's trigger finger was a blur of motion as it brought down the sword and other melee weapon wielding enemies.

All of a sudden, he noticed he had separated from Damas and looked around him.

Taking the opportune moment, a sword slashed at Jak's unarmored thigh. Jak shouted as he felt the immediate pain and turned to shoot a round into the blade's owner. Oddly, the pain stopped and he glanced down to the tear in his shorts to see only a small blood stain, but not gash or sign of a cut.

He didn't have time to think about the missing wound and noticed something coming up from behind him out of the corner of his eye. It was times like this he wished he still had his enhanced dark powers.

Not ten minutes later, the gun Damas had given Jak jammed, forcing him to use the body of the firearm as a substitute weapon.

Smashing his way through with blunt force, he finally met up with a group of KGs near the beach.

"Where's Torn?" Jak yelled to a nearby guard who pointed toward a heavily armored elf, who at the moment was sticking his curved dagger into the back of an unsuspecting Marauder.

Jak ran towards the tattooed elf, knocking one of the many enemies in the face on the way.

"Got an extra gun?" Jak shouted, holding up his own bloody and broken one. Torn reached down to his ankle holster, grabbing his pistol and shoving it into Jak's hands.

Together the group of about six headed towards Damas's Palace for he feared for Keira and Claire, and what might happen if their foes found them.

As they got deeper into the city, the resistance from the Marauders seemed to get worse. A few houses along the way were burning now, and Jak felt a sickening knot form in the pit of his stomach. They turned down the alleyway that led to Spargus's Palace and Jak gestured for their pace to quicken.

Less than twenty yards away from the doors into the Palace, Jak's worst fears were displayed in front of him. He gave a slight cry and Torn looked to him, watching his friend's face go pale as he broke apart from the cluster, unleashing Hell on any opponent that dared to cross his path.

The automated doors were blown apart and smoking, no enemies nearby at that point. Jak took the barely-safe elevator to the floor above the Throne Room, where he had last seen Keira, Trajan and his mother.

Meanwhile, outside, the reinforcements that Torn had called for finally made it, putting an end to the devastating attack.

* * *

**There's a little cliffhanger for ya. **

**So I'm starting to introduce Jak's light powers a little bit.**

**Hope the action was satisfying enough and sorry Damas is starting to get so sappy! Tell me what you think!!**


	7. Cruel Tradition

**Chapter 7: Cruel Tradition**

Without a second thought, Torn rushed into the Palace after Jak, taking the stairs. He feared the worst.

The adrenaline surge that he had gotten was now beginning to fade as he neared the top of the long flight of stairs. By the entrance to a large hall, Torn passed a beaten corpse of a Marauder. Judging by the pool of blood that had collected around the body, he guessed that it had been killed a while before Jak came.

The exhausted General walked into the room and looked around. Shattered glass and rubble littered the floor. He spotted Jak hunched over something on the floor next to a fallen portrait of Mar. Walking closer, he saw Keira's limp body in the youth King's hands, badly beaten. He started towards them, but then saw something stir out of the corner of his eye; it was Claire. Torn hurried over to her side and kneeled on the ground. She was holding a bent metal candle holder and he wondered if she had been responsible for the dead Marauder. Claire moaned in pain as the tattooed elf slowly propped her up against the wall so he could examine the gash on her forehead.

Jak felt his whole body weaken as he pleadingly whispered in Keira's ear for her to wake up. He held her face in his hand and lightly ran his finger over her bruised cheekbone and saw the purple color fade strangely. He knew his precious son had been taken and tried to take one step at a time, beginning with Keira.

Finally her eyes began to flutter open and she looked about wildly.

"Where's Trajan?!" She shouted hysterically, trying to get up.

Jak said nothing, trying to fight back the tears that now welled in his sky blue eyes. He pulled his fiancée into a hug as she weakly tried to separate herself from him, continuing to cry and shout.

"Did they take him?!" she cried into Jak's chest, her body shaking in shock.

"Claire!" the powerful voice of Damas shouted as he ran into the room towards his wife and Torn. Torn quickly stood up and backed away from them, giving them some space.

Ashelin came in a moment after Damas and ran to Torn's arms. The two looked each other over for wounds and embraced warmly when they saw nothing fatal.

The cries of the mother who had lost her child continued and Ashelin looked from Torn to Keira, then back to Torn, staring into his eyes for the answer to what was going on.

"Trajan was...taken," Torn whispered to her and the Governess clapped her hand over her mouth and gasped. "You and me," he continued, "We'll take the fresh reinforcements and go after them."

"Not without Jak-?" she began, also whispering.

Torn shook his head, "Keira needs him here."

Torn had not disobeyed an order since his retirement from the Krimzon Guard in Praxis's days. Jak had refused him the permission to lead troops after the Marauders without him. But Torn knew that Jak was too tired mentally to even attempt to go into anther fight. He also knew that Jak's current craving for revenge could lead to deadly mistakes on the battlefield.

Damas, however, Torn could not control. After making sure that his wife, Jak and Keira were seeing medical attention, he commanded what was left of his Wasteland army to assemble in the garage area.

As Torn and Ashelin restocked their guns with fresh clips, a tall and lanky Wastelander walked towards Damas. The red-haired pair exchanged a glance and watched as the elf whispered into the King's ear, and promptly left after he delivered the message.

He stood still for a moment, and then looked towards Ashelin and Torn, "There is a large sand storm heading our way. By time it passes it will be night. We cannot go out now..." Damas said discouraged, walking out and going down the elevator.

Damas walked alone slowly to the conveniently located hospital across the street. He felt like he was drowning in his own thoughts. His own two sons, and now his grandson had been taken, leaving behind his brutally beaten wife and soon-to-be daughter-in-law for dead. The Marauders had hurt everyone he cared about; he would get his vengeance in time.

Watching the doctors have to sedate Keira was one of the most horrific things Jak had seen. When he had helped to bring her in, he witnessed her painful screams as she fought back against the doctors, crying out that she had to get her baby and only further injuring herself. Now, he was alone with his sleeping girlfriend in a small, white hospital room. It seemed that all Jak and his friends ever saw anymore was the blank walls of an infirmary or hospital.

As the day's events began to replay in his mind, he no longer had any strength to hold the tears back. His son, his only child, a part of him...had been snatched from him. He buried his face in his hands in an attempt to stifle is sobs.

First his older unknown brother, then himself, and now Trajan? Why did this cruel 'tradition' continue?

Three loud taps on the door metaphorically slapped Jak out of his depressing state as he quickly wiped away his salty tears, trying to hide any evidence of the raw emotion.

"Come in..." Jak squeaked, his throat felt tight and swollen and he tried to clear his throat, embarrassed.

Damas walked in and his eyes darted to Jak's face. His red eyes and battle-worn appearance was almost enough to send him into the sandstorm anyways. There was no true comfort he could give; he knew, having gone through it before twice already.

"I'm sorry Jak...there's a bad storm heading right for us...We can't go after them now. Tomorrow, though, we will go at first-" Damas was cut off by Jak putting his hand up to stop him.

"Don't try to give me false hope," Jak snapped in a low, angry voice and breaking eye contact with his father.

"We _will_ get Trajan back, Jak," Damas declared firmly, praying to the Precursors that it would turn out well.

Judging that words were of no use now, Damas looked once more at the miserable Jak and left, heading for Claire's room down the hall.

Alone again, Jak settled into his misery once more and scooted his chair nearer to Keira. Her wrist was purple from where she had ripped an I.V. needle from it.

He looked to the rip in his shorts and saw where he had been slashed by the blade. All that was there now was a blood stain on the material of his shorts, no scar or even sign of a scrape on his skin. _Light eco..._ echoed in his mind. He remembered vaguely when he had channeled the white substance on top of the Silos, defeating Gol and Maia. Though, he vividly recalled the incredible feeling that had swam through his veins that day, and how he hadn't looked or felt like he'd been hit by the two yellow-eco blasts that he had indeed suffered.

Surprisingly, an idea popped into his head. Careful not to disturb her, Jak picked up Keira's swollen wrist and tried to focus his mind on channeling, like he had with blue and yellow eco back in his younger years. He stared as, amazingly, the sickly colors retreated from Keira's fair skin and any sign of swelling disappeared.

Jak was so concentrated on her healing wrist that it startled him when the sound of a sharp inhalation of air came from Keira.

Fearing that she might have another fit, he stood up and hovered over her, watching her closely.

"Jak?" she asked quietly, her voice a little rough.

"I'm here," he said relieved, putting a hand on the side of her neck.

A tear slid down her cheek and Jak tenderly wiped it away. She tried to sit up, but was too weak. Jak helped her, supporting her back by sitting behind her and letting her rest on his broad chest.

"I tried Jak, I tried...to stop them..." she began to cry.

"I know you did...it's alright..." he tried to soother her, even though he himself was deeply troubled.

"Is Claire okay?" she sniffled.

"Yes...She's good, they got you both pretty badly," Jak kissed the side of her head.

"I love you..." she said twisting around and leaning into his open arms, beginning to cry harder.

"I love you too..." Jak said in return, holding her tightly, his body shuddering as he too, broke down once more.

**Okay, so how am I doing? **

**Any suggestions? **

**Is it going to slow at all?**

**Let me know...!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks for all the positive feedback everyone! **

**This chapter was quite difficult to write without it sounding completely horrible. I couldn't even think of a good name for it! Enjoy!**

**Chapter 8**

Jak woke up the next morning feeling like his head was so swollen it was on the point of exploding from crying himself to sleep. Slowly, he lifted Keira off his chest and went to the bathroom. He looked at himself in the mirror. He was still dusty from the day before, and had a line of dried blood along his brow. Hopping into the tiny shower stall, he scrubbed his body of yesterday's grime. As the scalding water pelted his tough skin he wished so badly to awake from the nightmare.

_What will those **things** do with a three month old baby?_ Jak thought and cringed at his graphic imagination, _Why **my** son? Why was **I **taken? My brother? What did they gain from us?_ All these thoughts and more made their way through Jak's tired mind.

When Jak at last got out of the shower, he dressed and came out into the small room. He saw a petite nurse offering Keira some food. Bluntly, she refused and told her to get out. Jak walked up and took the bowl of oatmeal from the nurse, nodding as if to say he would take care of it.

The nurse left and Jak sat on the edge of Keira's bed holding up the bowl. She looked into his eyes pleadingly, full of pain.

Jak tried to appear lighthearted, "Keira, you have to eat. You don't want Trajan to come back and see his mom half starved, do you?" He had a hard time saying his son's name, but tried to smile for encouragement.

Reluctantly, Keira allowed for her blonde fiancée to spoon feed her until Torn and Damas walked in unannounced.

"We're going now, Jak," Torn said, adjusting the holster on his belt.

"I'm coming with you, then. I'm ready now," Jak stated, not to be swayed this time.

Torn was about to protest but Damas stopped him, "Good. Let's get moving."

Jak looked back at Keira, who nodded with a tear and whispered, "Bring Trajan back."

He kissed her on the lips, tasting the salty tear that had landed upon them. Glancing back at her one last time, he locked his eyes with hers and left.

* * *

Not ever having ridden in a land vehicle before, much less drive one, Torn, Ashelin, and Jak rode with King Damas in his large and sturdy desert 'car' known as a _Gila Stomper_. This was the top choice among the Wastelanders, as it had an automatic gun turret mounted on top of it, killing any enemy that moved.

The way to Marauder territory was well known by all Wastelanders. The two rivals had been at each other's throats since Damas had founded Spargus some twenty years ago.

Twenty-five desert vehicles followed their leader over the sandy dunes and over the small river into enemy grounds. Above them, five KG carriers flew, holding about 25 soldiers in each. It wasn't a very large force, altogether only about 220 strong; but then again, most of the enemy hadn't had the pleasure of escaping Spargus City with their lives.

What the combined force of Haven and Spargus lacked in number, they made up with the highly destructive and highly accurate weapons they packed with them.

* * *

The lead cars and carriers were now in view of the Marauder fortress, an island in the middle of a large lake, small bridges leading to it from the main body of land.

The group came to a stop and two 'warning' shots were launched off from an artillery vehicle beside Damas's Gila Stomper. Jak sat in the vehicle impatiently, watching the shots go off. His skin was positively burning with anger and he just wanted to go, to move, to kill. But, as much he hated to admit it, he knew they couldn't just fire upon the fortress from here, risking Trajan's safety. Damas had touched on what they would have to do on the drive there, but Jak did not want to acknowledge it; making a bargain with those..._things_.

Thankfully, his rational side took over his warmongering mindset, reminding him that he just wanted his son back safely.

It was like the Marauders had predicted this bargaining tactic, as a single vehicle traveled towards them from the bridge and stopped. It was their move now as Damas slowly drove down towards them.

Damas, Jak, Ashelin, and Torn got out, leaving their weapons behind, and walked within ten feet of three gruesome-looking Marauders. One held a wailing Trajan.

His son being metaphorically dangled in front of him was too much for Jak to handle, and he started for his son, only to be held back forcefully by Torn. The young King clenched his teeth, every muscle in his body tense as he stared at the spiky-armored wearing elf that held his son with one hand, and a gleaming blade in the other.

The one who was apparently the leader, taller than the other two and more heavily clad in armor, stepped forward, eyeing up Jak.

"I see we have the 'Great King of Haven City' in our presence," he spat in a scratchy voice, "No more than a foolish teenager!"

Then Damas spoke in a menacing voice, "What do you want in exchange for the child?"

"Oh, and the mighty desert _King_ Damas...Can't keep a handle on your own children, let alone...your _grandchild_..." he hissed, shifting his snake-like eyes towards the distraught baby. "Maybe you want to know what happened to your own brats before we start dealing, eh? You have to know what you're dealing with..." The Marauder leader was just toying with them now, knowing he had the control.

Damas breathed sharply, knowing they wouldn't get anywhere soon, especially if they upset them.

"I should start at the beginning, so you can fully _enjoy_ the story," the disgusting being smirked at the widening of Damas's eyes and Jak's anger, "The 'Prophecy'? Have you heard of it? Of course you haven't, the Baron found it long ago, amongst the hidden archives of Mar, and destroyed it..." the leader glanced around, soaking in the effect of his little 'story'. " 'The son of the Desert King will prevail over the greatest threat of the race of Elves.' Blah, blah...So the great Baron gave us weapons in exchange for your son," the Marauder looked around at the shocked faces and continued on, "The first one was easy enough, the little shit was always parading outside the safety of your city walls. He was what? Thirteen? Fourteen, then Damas? ...Anyways...Praxis told us he was no good, 'Not the one' he said. So, we sold him to the Krimzon Guard, and left him in an alleyway for them to find..." the Marauder let out an eerie laugh.

Torn and Ashelin looked at each other. That Marauder had just explained the exact way Torn had been found ten years ago.

"You!" Torn shouted, still holding Jak by the shoulders, "That was...me!"

Damas looked at Torn bewildered, "What?"

The leader cackled again, "This is too good...A family reunion?!"

Damas started for the leader, curling his fist in a white knuckled ball, anger flashing in his eyes.

The grisly leader tsk'ed, "Not so close, King," he motioned to the elf holding Trajan and on command, he held the blade close to the baby's face.

"No!" Jak shouted, fighting against Torn and uselessly reaching out, wishing so bad that he could just hold his son.

Then, the oddest thing happened. A beam of pale blue light surrounded his outstretched hand and then exploded around him. Jak looked around and saw that everyone seemed to be frozen, expressions were still and Torn's hands were like stone around his shoulders. He moved free and ran for his son, taking him from the Marauder's hold. The brightness around him began to fade and he returned to his former place in front of Torn.

Everything all of the sudden continued as if Jak's stunt had never happened.

"What the-?" The marauder that had been holding the baby shouted, seeing their leverage now in Jak's arms. He ran towards Jak, sword in striking position. Torn quickly got out his pistol that he had hidden in the belt of his pants behind his back and shot the enemy before he had a chance to swing. He then held up the gun, pointing it at the remaining two Marauders, daring them to move.

Walking right up to the leader, Torn pointed the pistol underneath its pointy chin.

"_You_ sold me to those Krimzon Guards...Leaving me in that alleyway...I didn't even remember my own name!" With that, Torn backed away from his face, his rage continuing to build, and fired a shot directly into the Marauders head. The body fell to the ground right before the last Marauder's feet. The coward turned to run, but not before Torn unleashed another two shots into its back. The KG General then released his grip on the trigger and let the gun fall to the sand, turning around to see Jak, Ashelin and Damas staring at him.

"Mik?" Damas asked in disbelief.

Torn blinked twice when Damas said his real name, it sounded so familiar...yet distant.

Then, all their attention was distracted as a war cry sounded from the fortress. Abandoning the mystery for now, they rushed back to their car and drove back over the dune where the small force waited. It was time to rid the desert of the Marauder infestation.

In the car, Jak shielded Trajan from the sharp wind and tried to calm the hungry baby down.

Once the vehicle came to a halt, Damas yelled over Trajan's cries, "Jak! You need to get back to the city, take the extra _Sand Shark_ from one of the artillery divisions!"

"I can't just leave you guys!" Jak shouted back.

"I'm telling you this as a father...something you should be thinking as, too!" He had beaten Jak there.

Jak felt ashamed, _How could I possibly want to put my son in more danger?_

He got out of the vehicle and put his scarf up, zipping up his son inside of his jacket. The wind was picking up, blowing sand everywhere, making for low visibility. A storm was surely on the way.

He took the Sand Shark and went back to Spargus in lackluster fashion. He had never driven a land vehicle before, and driving on the traction-less sand was no place to learn. Carefully, he drove, with his son still cuddled safely inside his jacket, navigating between the dunes and rocks.

Twice the time it would have taken any decent driver, Jak finally drove into the garage sector of Spargus. Leaving the engine running, he unzipped his jacket and held Trajan properly, heading for the hospital and hoping the battle was going well for his friends...and _family_.

* * *

**Yes, silveremerald202, you got it, it was Torn.**

**Hope it wasn't too obvious to the rest of you!**

**Anyways, tell me how you all thought this chapter went, I wasn't too sure about it.**

**Now I'm off to write chapter nine...which I have yet to start, very unlike me!**


	9. Adding to the Family Tree

**Thanks for all the reviews!! You guys make me wanna write faster! I worked all day on this one...I don't know what I'm going to do with myself once this story is done!**

**Here's the next chapter...**

**Chapter 9: Adding to the Family Tree**

**Back to time right after Jak left**

Just because most of the Marauders used swords and knives didn't mean they were far behind in technology. Quite the opposite, their devilish vehicles alone could back a powerful punch, ramming into infantry and even armored vehicles on Damas's side.

Besides their cars, in their possession they held rare homing missiles, probably thanks to their past dealings with Baron Praxis. Although, even with their weaponry technology, they were no match for Damas's Wastelanders and Jak's disciplined KGs head to head.

It also was very apparent that without their leader, they were in disarray and their tactics became sloppy. Easily, they surrendered in less than twenty minutes.

With all the years of grief this pestering enemy had caused, Damas felt no need to take prisoners. Together, he and Torn made them retreat back to their stronghold, destroying the bridges along the way in an attempt to save their worthless lives. They were now trapped, right where they wanted them.

The triumphant King of the desert signaled to the long range artillery, watching as explosives and projectiles rained down upon the fortress, catching it aflame.

All watched the burning spectacle, ignoring the whipping sand at their backs. Damas's senses suddenly became alert, warning him of the sudden dryness in the air, an occurrence that usually preceded a sand storm.

"Storm!" Damas yelled futility into the strong wind, speeding back to his car.

No one seemed to hear or even look at the King, except Torn and Ashelin, happening to be standing right next to him.

Jumping into the backseat of their vehicle, Ashelin pulled out her communicator and ordered the carriers and their men back to the city. Damas, not having the communication between his men like Torn and Ashelin did, waved his arm about and finally caught some attention. He pointed in the direction of Spargus and shouted something indistinct against the wind. It was now a mad dash for the city, which lie ten minutes away.

The light was beginning to dim and soon, they could only see five yards in front of them. Everyday, the desert shifted in someway, and there really was no way to tell where you were exactly at any given time.

Luckily, the red KG carriers, which flew above most of the hazardous sand-wind, guided Damas's forces safely.

Relief to all was when the brightly burning light tower of Spargus could be seen faintly. Although, the storm continued to worsen, any uncovered parts of the body were subject to the painful scraping of the corrosive sand.

The winds howled with such ferocity that some of the smaller and less aerodynamic cars began to loose traction, causing them to swerve dangerously.

Damas heard the familiar sound of the gate opening, and blindly sped in. Twenty more buggies squeezed into the garage behind him, but four were not so fortunate. Just before the censored gates closed, Damas watched as four cars were swept away by a tidal wave of sand and debris.

* * *

Jak laid his son in its ecstatic mother's arms and smiled as big as his wind burnt cheeks would allow. In his absence, his mother had joined Keira and he cheerfully greeted her next.

As Keira happily cuddled her returned son, Jak told them what happened, skipping the parts about Trajan being threatened with the sword for Keira's sake. As detailed as he could, he explained the 'tale' the lead Marauder had told them and how Torn now fell into the mix. Also, he tried to describe to them about his strange newfound ability to apparently 'freeze' time.

Keira looked a Jak with a mix of disbelief and amazement, "Torn...your brother? Freezing time? This is a new record of oddity, even for you, Jak!" she laughed.

Jak nodded his head in agreement. His life had changed so dramatically in the past few months; it felt like one, big, ongoing dream.

The young father swept back his long, messy hair, watching Keira as she tickled Trajan, making the baby giggle. The scene couldn't have been sweeter if it had been covered in sugar.

The creak of an opening door caused the focus to shift on three sand-whipped elves walking in. Claire jumped into her husband's arms and kissed him in relief.

Torn and Ashelin, on the other hand, stood off to the side, feeling a bit awkward.

After Damas greeted Trajan and Keira, he looked from Jak to Torn.

"Jak, Torn...Come with me, I want to show you two something," Damas spoke, winking to his wife.

The two exchanged unsure looks but followed the Desert King out of the hospital and to the 'under-construction' Palace.

Instead of taking the elevator, Damas led them down a hidden stairway off to the side. At the bottom of the stairs was a musty and dim-lighted room. Damas walked over to a corner and uncovered two large boards, which turned out to be portraits. He turned the portraits around, revealing them to Torn and Jak.

The one on the right pictured a much younger Damas, still with blonde hair, standing next to a beautiful burgundy hair. In between the couple was a smiling Torn, or rather, Mik; short and wiry with his maroon colored hair standing straight up on his head. There were no tattoos on his face or body then, nor dreadlocks.

The portrait on the left consisted of Damas looking much the same he did now, except with Claire standing next to him. In the King's arms was a young Jak, with short green hair and the intense blue eyes that he shared with his father and half brother.

"Wow," Torn said, wiping his hand over his face.

"That was your mother, Lena...She feel ill soon after you were taken and..." Damas pointed to the woman, not finishing the rest of his sentence.

"Are there anymore? Pictures, I mean?" Jak asked.

"Yes...somewhere around here..." Damas looked around and found the box he was looking for.

Opening it, there was a toy sword and a few clothes on top of some photos.

"These were your things, Jak," he said, sliding the box towards the blonde. Then, he moved on to uncover another box, "Ah, Torn these were yours," he said blowing off the dust that had collected over the many years.

The older King watched as his found sons rummaged through their childhood belongings an suddenly thought of a question he had been meaning to ask Jak ever since he found out that he was his son.

"Jak?"

"Yeah?" he answered without looking up, amusing himself with the toy sword.

"Are you...a channeler?"

This caught Jak's attention, "Yeah, I am...But I haven't channeled pure eco since..." he thought back to Sandover, ignoring his horrible memories of dark eco, "Are you a-?"

"Yes...both your mother and I are, actually. You must have some pretty powerful capabilities then, since you would be a full blooded channeler, then?

"I did," his mind forgot to even register his new light eco talent. Then he looked to Torn.

"Am I one, too?" Torn looked up.

"Only half..." explained Damas, "But you did show some promising talent when you were young...Surely you knew you had some sort of abilities?"

"Damnit...I never even knew...Just thought I was allergic or something whenever I got near the stuff," Jak stifled a laugh to his side, but Torn ignored him, coming upon a picture of himself and Damas both happy and grinning, standing together next to the giant gun turret that overlooked the ocean.

"So that's why you weren't killed instantly by the dark eco..." Jak mumbled to himself, then looking around and hoping Damas hadn't heard him. He cringed at the thought of telling his recently discovered father the tale of the monster he had been.

* * *

Later that night, Ashelin and Torn, who shared a room, talked. Well, mostly Torn, for once. Ashelin didn't seem to care much that he was dominating the conversation, she just enjoyed his happiness.

He showed her the picture of himself and Damas, having put it in his pocket before they left the basement/storage room.

"This is too good;" she laughed teasingly, "Torn: General of the Krimzon Guard, formerly bucktoothed and sporting some spiky hair!"

He snatched the picture from her hands and lay back on their bed, returning it to his back pocket. Ashelin lay down next to him, propping herself up on one elbow. She leaned towards him and kissed him, longer and with more meaning than all the times before. He took her face in both hands and rolled on his side towards her, letting his hands slide down her curvy figure.

* * *

**And there's the time to stop...hehe...**

**Now, I'm off to start writing some more before I have to go to work! **

**Reviews, reviews! I need them for this story to live on:)**


	10. Preparations

**Thanks for the great reviews all, I really appreciate them! I had a little trouble getting started with this...but I think it works...We'll see!**

**  
Chapter 10: Preparations**

Five days later, the group of four returned to Haven City, but with a promise to visit Spargus again soon; since they now had a newfound connection to the place, anyways. They had to admit though, it was good to be home, surrounded by familiarity.

It was late when they finally arrived at the Palace, and everyone made a bee-line for their bedrooms.

Jak wanted to 'celebrate' their being home, but he was having a little trouble convincing Keira.

"Honestly Jak! Is that all you think about?" Keira scoffed, putting Trajan in his crib.

"Baby..." he tried to sweet-talk, "We haven't _done it_ for more than a week..."

"I want to wait until our wedding night, Jak" she said, ignoring his shock and began unpacking their things.

"Sorry, I just had a momentary loss of hearing..._What_ did you say?!"

"Jak..." Keira rolled her eyes.

"Since when did you take a vow of celibacy?" Jak spoke in mock anger.

"I just want it to be _extra_ special on our wedding night, alright?" she gave him a pleading look and Jak knew he had been shot down.

"So what date are we thinking about?" Jak asked hopefully, helping her put away their things.

"Well, I wanted it to be close to your birthday, but its too late to arrange that now, so-" she sighed, but Jak smiled.

"We can do that."

"But-" Keira tried

"Keira, I'm King of this City; it has its advantages. We could do it tomorrow if we wanted! How about the 15th?"

Keira looked up at him with a smile, "Really? You would want to do it so soon?"

He kissed her on the cheek, "I wanna marry you as soon as I can; and not just to have sex with you," he assured with a grin and she laughed, pushing his shoulder.

* * *

The next day, to Keira's delight and Jak's dismay, was full of planning and shopping. They picked out, correction, _Keira _picked out everything from the tux Jak would wear to the flowers that would be used as decoration. Not that Jak was offended by Keira making all the decisions or anything; he actually preferred to just leave the details to her like she wanted. It didn't end there for Jak, though, as Keira insisted that today he needed the haircut. 

When Jak heard the buzzing of their hair clipper stop, he opened his eyes and looked at the mirror in front of him. Grimacing, he reached up to feel his now very short hair. (**Jak X style fyi)**

"My head feels lighter..." Jak laughed, turning around in the swivel barber's chair to look at Keira who giggled at his comment.

Then, with their small, inescapable entourage, the happy pair decided to walk from the barber shop in the Bazaar to the Naughty Ottsel to visit Tess and Daxter. While they had been in Spargus, those two had decided to move out of the Palace and into their own small apartment above their bar.

Together they walked, Keira pushing Trajan in the stroller (She hardly let him out of her sight, anymore), and Jak looking around at the steadily improving Industrial sector.

It was a Sunday afternoon and the bar was closed until the evening, but Daxter welcomed his friends in eagerly.

"Finally, Jak! I haven't seen you in like, two weeks! I actually had to _read_ about your adventures for once, in the newspaper! Hey! What happened to your hair?!" Daxter exclaimed all at once.

Jak pointed a finger at his girlfriend who gave an innocent _Who me?_ look and laughed.

Eventually, Tess came out from the backroom and Jak filled them in on what they hadn't already heard or read about.

"Jeez, Jak...What a twisted life you have!" Daxter blabbed on about how being related to Torn had to be a nightmare. Jak just rolled his eyes at his furry friend. He had missed him, though, and his quirky comments; Jak was sad that his best friend would no longer be living right down the hall from him now.

Conversation soon turned to the inevitable topic of the upcoming wedding and the arrangements.

Daxter of course, would be Jak's best 'man', so to speak, and Keira decided that she wanted Tess to be her Maid of Honor. _Ashelin will just have to settle with bridesmaid_, she thought to herself.

* * *

Later that night, while everyone was asleep, Jak awoke with a start, breathing hard and in a cold sweat. He rolled from his bed to the ground, grabbing his gun from underneath the bed in one swift movement. He aimed it at some unseen foe to the left of Trajan's crib. He had heard someone talking; voices. He cocked his gun, his eyes scanning the room nervously for any movement in the darkness. 

Keira shifted on the bed, causing Jak to fire at the wall in surprise. At the sound of the shot, Keira sat up with a yell and Trajan followed, beginning to wail. She scrambled for the light switch and flicked it on, revealing a very paranoid-looking Jak in boxers and holding his mod-gun with a death grip.

"Jak!" she shouted at him, "What are you doing?!"

"I...I thought I heard someone, something..." he dropped the gun and stared at Keira, his cerulean eyes wide and his pupils dilated.

A bang came from the door as three guards knocked it down in a hurry, rushing in. They looked around, seeing their youth King kneeling on the floor and a rather large hole in the wall opposite him.

"We heard gun fire. Are you alright Your Highness?" One guard asked, pointing his gun downwards, seeing no imminent threat.

Jak didn't register what the guard said and looked to the floor. His head ached with a throbbing pain and the earsplitting cries of his son sounded muffled.

Keira waved the guards in dismissal, and went to her son's crib, picking him up and comforting the distressed baby. Holding him in one arm, Keira then made her way to Jak, sitting on the floor next to him.

Jak gripped his head with his hands, trying to make the pain stop. He could see Keira's lips moving in speech, but could only hear the loud beating of his heart, throbbing in tune with his headache.

Then, all at once, just as abruptly as it had come, the pain dissipated.

Keira now looked angry, thinking he had been ignoring her. She pointed to the hole in the wall. Then to Trajan's crib not a foot away.

"What were you thinking!?" Keira scolded him, "You could have hit Trajan for Precursor's sake!"

"I'm...sorry," was all Jak could say, now able to hear her.

Keira shot Jak an irritated glare and, taking their son, got up and walked out of the room, leaving Jak sitting on the floor alone.

The voices, they had seemed so real, so close, like someone had been speaking into his ear. Though, that wasn't what triggered Jak to scramble for his gun. No, what scared he was what the voices had said.

* * *

**Ooh, spooky. Hah.**

**Feedback? Pretty please ;)! **


	11. A Birthday and A Bachelor Party

**Sorry if the story was kinda going down the drain in the last chapter...I've been suffering a lack of inspiration lately, argh...**

**I hope I didn't introduce a new 'conflict' too late in the story...I just figured out a pretty good ending for this! Hope this next chapter doesn't fall short!**

**Chapter 11: A Birthday and a Bachelor Party**

After a day of being angry and ignoring him, Keira finally let Jak tell his side of the story. She was skeptical about the so called 'voices', but forgave him, seeing that he had meant well in protecting them. Compared to all they had been through, together and apart, this was a trivial bump in their relationship. And, as most teenage couples do, Jak and Keira bounced back to their lovesick ways.

**&&&**

**January 13th; two days until wedding.**

"How about in Spargus, right on the beach?" Jak suggested with a smile.

"That would be so perfect, Jak!" Keira hugged him excitedly, knowing that it was the ideal place for their impending exchange of vows.

Jak loved the way her emerald eyes seemed to glow when she was happy. "Good, because I've already asked Damas about it, and he's arranged it for us."

Keira squeaked in delight and toyed with the short hair on the back of his now exposed neck. "I can't wait," she sighed into his shoulder.

"Save it for the honeymoon!" Daxter walked into the Throne room, announcing his arrival followed by Tess.

"Daxter!" Jak parted himself from Keira, happy to see his friend, "What are you doing here?"

"Are you stupid? Tomorrow's your birthday and the day after, you're getting tied down forever! We have to celebrate!" Daxter threw up his arms in excitement.

_Oh no..._ Jak thought as his ottsel sidekick went on about his half-baked plans for a birthday/bachelor party. Then, when the elf mentioned the possibility of 'entertainment' that was to come, Jak felt Keira grab his wrist tightly.

Noting the worried look on Keira's face and Jak's cheeks turning a shade of pink, Tess flashed a nervous smile and covered her ottsel _boyfriend_'s mouth.

Even with his voice being muffled, Daxter still tried to talk, leaving Tess to pinch him to give him the hint.

"Oh, don't worry Keira; none of that stuff is really gonna happen..." Daxter pried Tess's hand from his face and innocently put his hands behind his back, giving an obvious wink to Jak.

The youth King cleared his throat uncomfortably, "I have to go...I have some meeting with the council members or something..." He turned and gave Keira a quick kiss and walked out, giving a nod to Tess and simply walking by an offended Daxter.

"Sheesh Keira, you really turned Jak into a tight-ass!" the orange rodent interrupted the silence that had taken the place of Jak.

Keira just rolled her eyes and Tess smiled.

"So how much time do we have?" Tess asked.

"About two hours if we're lucky," Keira answered excitedly, as they walked to her room and she grabbed her toolbox.

"What? Time for whaaat? Hellooo?" Daxter waved his arms, trying to get the two women's attention.

"Jak's birthday present, silly!" Tess clapped her hands on Daxter's furry face.

"Huh? Why didn't anyone tell me?" What is it!"

"Well, we didn't want you blabbing it to him! Damas is sending us one of his desert buggies. Tess and I are going to fix it up!" Keira laughed and they all left the Palace, heading for Keira's garage at the Stadium where Damas had the vehicle delivered. And, of course, they were tailed by three un-ditch-able KG guards for their safety.

**&&&**

The next morning, Jak was shaken awake by an energized Keira.

"Jak! Wake up! You have to see this! Come look!" She sounded like a little girl waking up her parents on Christmas morning.

Jak yawned and groggily, got up and walked over to the crib where Keira beckoned him.

"Watch this," she said, beaming as she turned Trajan gently over on his back.

After squirming around for a moment, the baby rolled himself over onto his stomach all by himself.

Jak smiled proudly, putting one hand down in the crib to stroke his son's downy green hair, and the other around Keira's waist. "What a great way to start off my birthday..." he yawned again.

Keira blinked several times in surprise; she had almost forgotten! "Happy birthday Jak!" She looked up at him and kissed him ardently on the lips. Breaking their lip-lock, Keira stared dreamily into Jak's eyes and whispered, "Now go brush your teeth."

Having been expecting a more romantic comment than that, Jak gave her a sarcastic look, "Ha-ha...You know you love it," and he went for her mouth again. She dodged his advance and laughed.

"Ew! Go!" She teased and pushed him towards the bathroom.

**&&&**

Keira ripped off the grey sheet, uncovering Jak's present. His eyes widened as he reached out his hand to run it along the shiny hood of the silver and blue car.

"It's from all of us!" Daxter proclaimed.

"Do you like it?" Keira smiled, knowing he did.

"Of course...It's amazing, Keir. Thanks you guys!" he looked around at all his friends' faces.

As with most of their parties, the group, consisting of Jak, Keira, Trajan, Tess, Daxter, Samos, Ashelin and Torn hopped into one of the royal escort carriers (the Cadillac of carriers) and headed for the Naughty Ottsel.

At the bar, they met up with Sig and Jinx, as well as several other of Jak's acquaintances. They all sang Happy Birthday (Well only Tess, Keira, and Daxter; the other men apparently feeling too manly to sing) to a young red-faced King. After that, they enjoyed a large chocolate-cherry cake in which little Trajan dipped his hands into, wanting first serve, evidently.

**&&**

"I trust you, Jak...Be good," she squeezed his cheek lightheartedly and left the Ottsel with Trajan, her father and the other two ladies.

"Heh, heh...So what kinda show we got planned, blondie?" Jinx smirked and lit up a cigar.

Daxter was about to answer Jinx's question when he saw the _'You'd better not have planned what I think you have'_ glare Jak was sending his way.

"Get your head outta the gutter, Jak!" Daxter mock-scolded, shoving a mug filled with a red-ish liquid into Jak's hands. "Drink up birthday boy!"

The men around them began chanting 'Chug, chug, chug!' as Jak gulped down the bitter-sweet tasting liquid.

"Hey Dax, what's in thi-" Jak dropped his mug suddenly and his head slumped backwards against the wall of the booth he was sitting in.

"Yes! Okay, who brought the handcuffs? Sig? I got the camera!" Daxter put his face next to Jak's, posing with a peace sign and snapping a photo.

"This is gonna be all over the newspapers tomorrow, eh Andy?" One of Jak's body guards near the door nudged the other who stood next to him.

The other nodded in agreement, "We are _so_ fired..."

**&&&**

**Ha! Some more of my poor attempts at humor! **

**Sorry if this seems like a filler-chapter, but there was some stuff that had been floating in my mind that I wanted to put together. **

**Jak and Keira finally get married in the next one...It only took me 11 freakin' chapters!**

**Okay now, ready, set--- Review!**


	12. Jak and Keira: The Wedding

**I hope this story is redeeming itself...I know in the last few chapters it appeared a little blah...hah, okay well enjoy!**

**Like the title? Inspired by the bit in the movie Elizabethtown (Chuck& Cindy: The Wedding)...if you haven't seen it, go get it right now! It's one of my favorites! ;)**

**Chapter 12: Jak and Keira: The Wedding**

The day had finally come; today Jak and Keira would 'tie the knot'.

Keira and the girls were getting ready to leave for Spargus, while Jak was...in bed?

The young King woke up with the sudden realization of what the day was. He looked around and wondered how he had gotten to his room; he couldn't even remember what had happened last night in the bar...

Daxter suddenly sprung up on Jak's chest while Samos stood in the doorway to the room, tapping his staff on the floor impatiently.

"Jaaaak? How do ya feel buddy?" Daxter smiled slyly.

"Horrible," Jak grumbled, shooing the ottsel off of him.

"Well wake up! We have to get to Spargus...the girls already left!"

When Jak couldn't ignore the jabbering of his orange friend any longer, he got up and changed into his well-worn, everyday outfit and grabbed his tux that hung by his dresser. Attached to the black suit was a note from Keira that simply read: _I love you_.

He smiled and put the note in his pocket. Of all his important and exciting experiences, Jak knew this was the adventure, the day that he had been waiting for all his life.

**& & &**

"Is Jak here _yet_?" Keira asked nervously as someone delicately applied mascara to her eyelashes.

"I just called Torn, he said that they'll be here in a half hour," Ashelin replied, sitting between Tess and Keira, also having her make-up done.

"What if he doesn't show up? What if this isn't what he wants anymore? Oh no...!" Keira tapped her feet on the ground repeatedly in a nervous habit.

"Calm down, Keir! I've never seen someone as in love as Jak is with you!" Tess assured happily, sounding almost jealous and smoothing a ruffle in her periwinkle dress that matched Ashelin's.

Claire joined the chattering women wearing a dark blue sun dress. It was plain, but well suited for the beach-wedding.

"How do you feel?" She asked the panicky bride sweetly, touching her lightly on the arm.

"Like my heart is in my stomach!"

Claire smiled, "That's normal...exactly how I felt before I married Damas. Don't worry, you and Jak couldn't be more perfect together," the desert Queen sighed dreamily, silently reliving her own wedding day in her mind.

**& & &**

Jak's carrier landed in the middle of Spargus City and Jak, Torn, Samos, Daxter and Jak's entourage stepped out, immediately being rushed into a building nearby the beach.

On the way in, the blonde groom caught a glimpse of where their ceremony was to take place.

Around a hundred white seats surrounded a royal blue carpet leading up to a beautifully crafted altar. He knew he would soon be walking down the aisle with the girl he loved and a wave of giddiness washed over him.

Damas was there waiting for them on the second floor of the building and father and son greeted each other with a hug. Torn, however, seemed to avoid that situation at all costs.

"So, today's the day!" Damas sighed loudly, eyeing his younger son.

Jak nodded with a grin and Torn shoved the tux into his hands. The introverted General then quickly walked away towards a dressing room with his own suit in his hands, but stopped short of it when Jak called back to him.

"Torn!" Jak beckoned for him to come towards him again, "I want _you_ to hold these," Jak held out his hand, showing his and Keira's gold wedding bands.

Torn was shocked, but gladly accepted the new honor and cracked a rare smile in thanks.

As more time went on, Jak began to feel anxiousness mix with his elation. He wore his wore his crown atop his head, as he did with all ceremonies he attended. It was now 2 o'clock, only about thirty minutes before the wedding was supposed to begin.

In an attempt to ground himself, Jak offered to take Trajan from Samos's care. Holding his growing son always seemed to take the edge away for Jak for some reason.

Jak looked out a window that overlooked the walk to the altar. Guests began to take their seats and a small crowd of onlookers were being dissipated by Damas's Wasteland guards.

"That's where your mummy and me are getting married," he pointed out the window, showing his babbling child the view.

A moment later, the young father felt a tug on the leg of his pants and turned around to see Daxter.

"You ready Jak?" the ottsel gave a infrequent sincere smile and adjusted his custom-made suit.

Jak nodded and took a deep breath. Damas walked up to the two and Jak handed Trajan to his grandfather. _This was it._

**& & &**

Keira stared at herself in the full length mirror. Her gown was a pearly white, made of satin-like material. The wide straps hung off her shoulder slightly, giving the neck of the dress a wide V-shape. In short, she looked absolutely stunning.

"Keira?" Samos knocked on the wall outside of the curtain that separated them, "It's almost time."

Keira opened the curtain and embraced her father tightly, "Oh Daddy," she sniffled.

"Don't cry now, Keira. Your beautiful makeup with run," Samos chuckled and rubbed her back comfortingly.

Keira laughed and stood up, releasing her grip on her short father.

**& & &**

"I'm ready," she sighed and picked up the front of her dress in her hands so she wouldn't step on it and walked out alongside her father.

Guards lines the perimeter and waiting guests filled the seats. Soft music began to play as Damas and Claire stepped out of the building on the beach and walked on either side of Jak down the aisle. Claire and Damas, holding Trajan, took their seats in the front on the left side while Ashelin and Torn, arm-in-arm, slowly walked down the aisle, followed by Tess and Daxter. The guys joined Jak on his side and the girls on the other.

Damas gave an encouraging wink to Jak and the music became louder.

Seem, the head monk, took her place behind the altar and nodded to Jak. However, he was too focused on the building that Keira would walk out of to notice.

Seemingly all at once, the crowd of guests' head's turned and they stood up, facing the gorgeous bride that had exited the building.

As best as they could without Keira leaning sideways, Father and Daughter walked arm-in-arm down the aisle, taking their time. Jak's eyes locked with hers and her already beaming smile widened.

After what seemed like ages, the two finally made it to the altar and Samos took his daughter's hand. The old Sage then reached for Jak's now sweaty hand, bringing them and their hands together. Keira stepped up onto the slight platform Jak was on, standing in front of him.

_She's so beautiful...Mar, I love her..._Were Jak's thoughts as he stared at his bride.

_Is this really it? I've been waiting so long; I can't believe I'm finally going to marry Jak..._Keira thought as she gazed into Jak's bright blue eyes.

Seem began to speak in the ancient dialect and performed swift hand movements in front of the couple.

When she called for the rings, Torn stepped forward and presented the wedding bands with a twitch energy not usually associated with Haven's 'toughest' General.

Jak gulped and said his vows as he slipped the gold ring on Keira's delicate finger.

Shakily, Keira did the same, softly saying her vows and sliding Jak's much larger ring over his callused finger.

The couple waited for the final words and shared a short, but intimate kiss. All their friends and family clapped and the enthusiastic Daxter threw in a loud whoop.

Seem presented them as King and Queen Jak Mar; Mar, after all, being his birth name.

Happily, the pair walked back down the aisle together, the citizens of Haven and Spargus bowing alike.

**& & &**

**Hooray! They're married! Sorry it kinda took so long...school's been exhausting. It was so hard to write the end of this because I just found out my new cellphone had been stolen...do you know how hard it is to write something that's supposed to be happy when you're that pissed? Hah...Alrighty, Review please!**


	13. Romantic Getaway

**Nope, it's not the end.**

**Here goes another one...**

**Sorry if it's too much fluff for some of you!**

**Chapter 13: Romantic Getaway**

**The Wedding Reception:**

The after party was extravagant to say at the least. It was held in the best of Spargus's restaurants, the party expanding from inside it to the outside deck.

Keira and Jak sifted through the crowd, greeting and thanking everyone who had come.

Jak had hardly had time to take off his suit coat before he and Keira were rushed towards the tall and intricately designed wedding cake inside.

In tradition, together they sliced two pieces of cake for each other, and naturally they ended up smashing it into the other's mouth playfully.

Soon afterwards, everyone was ushered to the seating arrangements inside and the drinks were served. While they were waiting for their meals to come, as is usual with receptions, friends and family of the newlyweds offered their congratulations and toasts in their favor.

King Damas signaled for the band to start and the soft, smooth music of strings and woodwinds swept throughout the restaurant patio. The lights dimmed and Jak stood up, offering his hand to his new bride as everyone watched in silence. The couple walked onto the wooden dance floor. Slowly, they began to dance, swaying in fluid motions with the music. They never took their eyes off of each other, not even for a moment, letting the serene atmosphere engulf them.

Minutes passed and the sweet melody began to transition to another song as Damas and Claire stepped towards the pair; Damas taking his daughter-in-law's hands and Jak taking his mother's. Before long, they were joined by other couples as well. Jak smiled warmly at the sight of Ashelin in Torn's arms and almost chuckled when he saw Tess spinning around with Daxter cradled to her chest.

Keira soon returned to her husband and they continued to dance for what seemed like hours. They ended the last dance with a long and affectionate kiss, then returning to their seats at the center of a long table shared by their family and closest friends.

An appetizing meal was served to all and Jak and Keira talked together cheerfully. The young King held his cooing son in one arm as he ate and talked.

"Nope, I'm not telling you until we get there," Jak grinned slyly and shoved another forkful into his mouth.

"Just a hint?" Keira pleaded, poking his side.

"Uh-huh..." Jak grunted cheekily, refusing to tell her where they were staying for their honeymoon that night.

"Oh fine!" Keira laughed and reached for Trajan.

* * *

It was beginning to get late and a few of the guests began to saw their goodbyes.

Samos took Trajan back to Haven in one of Jak's transports along with Ashelin, Torn, Daxter, and Tess.

"So, we're not going back to Haven, then?" Keira tried to pry answers out of Jak but he just rolled his eyes and laughed.

"Turn around," he asked, and when she did Jak put a cloth over her eyes as a blindfold.

"What -?" Keira began, but Jak turned her back around and pressed his lips to hers, quieting her.

"You'll see..." He whispered as he led her to a zoomer he had sent to Damas ahead of time.

He instructed her to hold tight as he kicked off the ground and they hovered effortlessly in the air.

The young bride was still in her wedding gown and it caught lazily in the wind with the speed of the zoomer as Jak flew towards his mystery destination.

She nestle her face between his powerful shoulder blades as she felt his speed increase. _Where could we be going? We're definitely not in Spargus and I don't think we're heading back to Haven..._

Her question would soon be answered as she felt the vehicle begin to descend.

Carefully, her new husband lifted her off the zoomer and she felt her feet dip into soft, wet sand. Pushing up the blindfold, Keira saw that they were at some kind of oasis; a hidden paradise in the middle of the Wasteland.

Jak then turned her around to her right to reveal a small sort of condo/ mini house he had had built in the week leading up to their wedding.

"Jak..." she whispered in awe, tears welling in her green eyes.

He smiled, resting his chin on her shoulder and wrapping his arms around her from behind, "I'm glad you like it."

That night, the two watched the sun sink low beyond the desert dunes as they sat by the small body of water, tiny waves lapping at their feet. They then proceeded to go into their lavishly furnished, private honeymoon suite.

Of course, this wouldn't be the first night the couple spent together, but it was by far the most special. It was their night; neither rushed nor too slow, it was just right.

Later on in the evening, going into the early hours of the morning, Jak tossed and turned in his sleep.

_...Coming for the boy...He shares your gift..._

_...He is born of the dark substance – yet pure. We need him..._ Another voice echoed in his mind.

These voices though, did not seem of a malevolent nature. Strangely, they were almost _angelic_.

Jak tightened his hold around Keira, who lay in the comfort of his arms. Looking around in the darkness of the room, he told himself that he was just imagining it, that he was making himself paranoid for no reason. Soon, as abruptly as they came, the stopped and he found himself drifting off into a pleasant slumber.

* * *

The catch was, they could only spend one night there. After all, Jak was King of a city and had spent too many of his 'vacation' days as it were. And also, there was the ever-present duty of raising an ever growing son.

"So...uh, Daxter told me to open these today...Any idea what they're about?" Keira asked, reaching over the side of the bed to her pack and pulling out a pack of pictures in an envelope.

"Nope," Jak answered innocently, not able to think of what the pictures could be of.

All of the sudden, Keira burst out in laughter, shoving the first picture in Jak's face.

Jak's eyes widened and his cheeks flushed. They were of course, the pictures from his birthday/bachelor party. The first one involved Jak's closed eyelids painted over to look like he was awake and him apparently 'making out' with a cardboard cut out of the late Krew. Unfortunately for Jak and only adding to Keira's uncontrollable laughter was more pictures of Jak in various _positions_ with the other men that had been present.

"Well at least I know there weren't any strippers! Seems like _you_ were the entertainment!" Keira joked, pointing to another picture.

"Someone is definitely going to die when I get back..." Jak half laughed, his face still a shade of pink as he went though the pictures that Keira passed to him.

Keira stifled her giggles and ran her hand along his face, "Aw, baby...Its all just good fun..." She kissed him, making him forget any emotion besides love.

Their short post-wedding getaway ended all too soon, and before they knew it, Keira and Jak were heading for Spargus for a quick goodbye to Damas and Claire; then proceeding to take a sky car to the Palace in Haven.

* * *

On the trip back to Haven, Keira was having a sudden, sad awareness about all the excitement of being a bride being over.

"...And I'll never get to wear my gown again!" Keira began to cry and Jak held her, at a loss for what to say; as most men would be.

"Keira...I, uh...I would buy you a wedding dress for everyday of the year if it would only make you feel better..." Jak offered sweetly, wiping away her tears and smiling reassuringly.

This, of course, wasn't the answer she was looking for exactly, but she gave him an 'A' for effort.

"I love you Jak..." Keira sniffled and leaned against his shoulder, sighing contently.

* * *

**I know...mushy...but it was necessary...kinda ;)**

**Tell me what you all think?! Thanks for reading!**


	14. The Search is Over

**So assuming from the lack of reviews...the last chapter pretty much sucked. I'm sorry...I guess I'm too much of a romantic; I'll add some action.**

**Chapter 14: **

Jak and Keira returned back to Haven soon enough, and it wasn't too long before new issues in need of Jak's guidance appeared. Once again, there was a metal-head infestation in Haven forest that needed taken care of.

Feeling a little restless from the lack of gun-use as it was, Jak volunteered much to Keira and his advisors' consternation. But, it was one of the few arguments the stubborn youth won, and he contently readied himself along with Torn in the armory.

Speaking of Jak and Torn, their new connection of being half-brothers seemed to be settling down comfortably between them. It was like some kind of unspoken agreement.

Together, the two took a small outfit of newer recruits so as to give them some real battle experience. This time, Jak knew from first hand scout reports that the metal-heads they would be facing were very normal, as well as very dumb; nothing two veterans and a few newbies couldn't handle.

* * *

In an orderly fashion, the group unloaded off of the KG transport and cocked their guns. Jak took the head of the group, naturally, and took in the scenic and familiar surroundings.

Torn was the first to spot the force of metal-heads at a two o'clock position from his spot in the bushes.. Jak girded the oncoming enemy with a warm-up shot for their apparent 'leader'; a commonly sighted metal-head that ran on four legs, just a tad larger than the rest.

The shot made contact with its shoulder, slowing its pace down slightly. Jak flashed a menacing grin and signaled to Torn and a few snipers that were hidden in the brush to their left.

It was like a game to Jak, a dangerous one at that; toying with the enemy to his liking. This was going to be _fun_.

* * *

With their lack of experience against a live foe, the recruits' aim was a little off, leaving Jak to pick off the brunt of them on his own.

Even before the metal-heads were within six yards of Jak's outfit, only half of their number remained, mostly thanks to Torn and his snipers as well as Jak.

Around ten minutes into the small skirmish, Jak's temples began to ache and he felt his focus wane. He would have been tackled by an oncoming brute if it hadn't been for a sleek dagger flying from the brush and into the un-armored flesh of the beast.

He felt arms pull him backwards as scenes flashed in front of his eyes. The youth could see himself holding Trajan and smiling; everything seemed to radiate an odd glow. Again, he began to hear the beatific voices, only they seemed to be more persistent and had an eerie sense of urgency.

Then, as if someone had just pushed the fast-forward button, everything suddenly threw him into the present. _What the hell is happening to me?_

Torn stood in front of Jak, his back facing him as he kicked a carcass with content. No casualties on their side and only two injured. It was a good fight in his book. But what was up with Jak now? It seemed that if he wasn't going through one problem, he was having another. His younger brother seemed dazed and disoriented, like someone had thumped him over the head. However, Torn wasn't one to show concern and knew Jak always ended up fine anyways.

"Load up!" Torn shouted to the rogue elves who wandered and prodded at the dead beasts.

* * *

On the way back to the Palace, silence awkwardly filled Jak and Torn's private carrier.

Jak mused to himself on his unusual recent experiences while Torn distracted himself with other things, like Ashelin, and where exactly they were headed.

* * *

Keira, with Trajan and Ashelin excitedly greeted their returned significant others. The new wife fussed over her new hubby, looking him over for any sign of a scratch or bruise. And, once satisfied that there were none, planted a loving kiss on his lips.

Jak reached out for Trajan and Keira eyed curiously as she handed her son to him.

"Something wrong, Jak?"

"Nope. I'm fine," Jak shrugged, trying to put the disturbing voices out of his thoughts. He cradled his son snugly against his chest and pressed his mouth against the infant's fuzzy green head, silently hoping against hope that the voices and what they said wasn't real.

* * *

Two weeks passed and things continued on much as they had. Jak continued to have more of the dreams and 'visions', but refused to tell anyone. Being King meant people depended on him, on his judgment; and he would not lead anyone to believe that he was crazy.

The stressed father spent more and more time with Trajan, becoming more protective and anti-social than usual. Keira would disregard it as a phase and work in her shop as Jak would play with their baby, fruitlessly trying to teach him out to play with the toy sword that had been his not too long ago.

"Good jo- Ouch!" Jak half laughed and half winced while he held Trajan up in a standing position and the baby kicked his foot in his daddy's groin.

Daxter waltzed into the Throne room where Jak currently was and snorted unenthusiastically to make his presence known.

"You think you can fit me into your schedule, big daddy?" Daxter placed his furry paws on his hips, shooting Jak an offended look.

"Sorry, Dax...I've just been-"

"Busy. Yeah I know. Even Keira and ol' log-in-the-head found time to visit me and Tessy last weekend..." the rodent shuffled his feet and looked at the floor, looking quite sad.

"You're right. I'm sorry," Jak said, truly meaning it, and then an idea came to mind, "Hey...Do you want to come with me to the Arena at Spargus on Saturday? Damas invited me, and Keira has some kind of thing planned with Samos..."

"Yeah! Just you and me...The great Jak and Daxter-" Daxter began to get excited.

"And Baby," Jak added.

"Doesn't quite roll of the tongue...But anyways! ...World Famous Demolition Duo hanging out once again...!" As always, the hyperactive orange ottsel continued rambling,

The blonde haired King just grinned, _Taking care of a whole city is **nothing** compared to keeping all your friends and family happy at once!

* * *

_

Keira kissed Jak lightly on his jaw line, "Have fun in Spargus...Sorry I can't come..."

"Its okay. Dax is excited about it being 'just the boys' anyways," Jak smiled and Keira left the throne room with Samos.

"Are you and junior ready to go?" Daxter replaced Keira's place wearing a pair of oversized sunglasses.

Jak rolled his eyes at the comical sight of his friend and looked down at Trajan who was currently sleeping contently in his arms.

"Yup," Jak grabbed a bag of baby necessities and headed for the Palace's rooftop, from where they would be transported to Spargus.

* * *

Damas greeted them happily when they landed, but Jak could see his disappointment at Torn's choosing not to join them.

"Come with me. We don't want to be late," the elder King spoke and put on a show smile.

Jak offered a weak smile and silently followed his father, Daxter bounding happily at his feet.

As they neared the entrance to the arena, Jak could hear the roar of the crowd and sensed the feelings of fear and excitement that hung in the air tug at his enhanced senses. All in all, the whole place gave him a rush.

Their seating arrangements were on a large platform that overlooked the whole of the arena and held two throne-like chairs. Damas motioned for Jak to take the seat next to him and Daxter clambered his way to the large arm rest.

Since the event had yet to begin, Jak decided he might as well feed his steadily fussing son awhile. As he propped a bottle in Trajan's mouth, he looked to Damas on his right.

"So what exactly are we going to be watching?"

"Ah...You see, we caught some of those bastard Marauders roaming around the old city ruins; stragglers. We also managed to capture a view rather large specimens of desert metal-heads. It should be interesting..." Damas grinned.

Jak smiled too and thought, _This **will** be interesting then..._

Within the next five minutes, around nine dazed Marauders were pushed onto the main rectangular platform of the arena and held their single allowed blade tightly.

Damas let them wallow in confusion for several minutes before he signaled for one medium-sized and heinous-looking monster to be released. The creature let out a squawking roar and charged one fear-stricken Marauder. Seemingly not noticing, the biped beast squashed the small foe under its strong legs without a second thought.

Jak let out a whoop that faded into the noise of the blood-lusting crowd, mentally goading on the metal-head. He had seen one once in the Wasteland and had made a point not to meet one face to face.

The excitement of the crowd grew as another metal-head was released, larger than the first. Jak positioned his tiny, look-alike son on his shoulders, and held him there with one hand. The young father and King suddenly had an urge to be down there, fighting the kidnapping Marauders with his bare hands and ripping them to pieces with the rage he felt against them.

Luckily, a giggle and tug at his hair by 14 week-old Trajan, who was currently gumming on his lopsided crown snapped Jak out of his growing anger.

Ignoring the intensifying fight below for a moment, Jak took his son off his shoulders and back into his lap, holding him close. Every inch of his body was suddenly telling him something was about to go wrong. And looking around, no one else seemed to have the same feeling.

"Damas-" Jak began, but was interrupted by a deafening, high pitched sound. Everyone tried to cover their ears and block out the sound to no use while staring at where the noise came from.

A large, distorted and circular 'rift' had appeared in the middle of the arena before Jak and Damas.

* * *

**Note: Think Donnie Darko portal thingys!

* * *

**

Daxter jumped down with a yelp onto the platform and hid behind Jak's leg as Damas stood up to meet the mysterious intruder.

From the rift, a bright white glow forced Jak to shield his eyes with one hand and grip Trajan tighter with the other. Three figures seemed to materialize from the light and one levitated within seven feet of Jak, pointing towards him.

The glowing being spoke with a loud, but angelic voice, "_We have come for you._"

_The voices. It was **them**. _"Wha-? Why?" Jak cried out, standing up and going as close to the Precursor that the platform would allow. "Don't I deserve to live the rest of my life in peace!?"

The Precursor did not answer his questions, it only shook its facial-feature-less head from side to side, "_Your son..._"

"Trajan? No! _Nothing_ will ever take him from me again!" Jak yelled as he felt an icy fear take over.

"_He must come with us, Jak...he was born of Dark and Light, a mixture of which has never occurred before...He will be better off in our care..._" another Precursor spoke, holding out its arms as if Jak would hand over his baby.

"I will not let you take him!" **I** am his father; he has a mother, a family here! Trajan is my son!" Jak was getting panicky now and the Precursors seemed to be closing in around him. _What match am I against a Precursor?_

The omnipotent figures seemed to be trying to put him under control, but Jak's will was stronger than most.

On his shoulder, Jak felt a firm hand grip him and pull him backwards. Damas pushed Jak behind him and stood before the _Great_ Precursors.

"If anything, _you_ owe Jak for the countless times he's saved this place, these people, in the past and now! How can the 'all-knowing', 'all-powerful', and _'all merciful'_ Precursors even consider taking something so dear to someone as good as Jak?!" Damas boomed, pointing accusingly at his makers.

The radiant figures were evidently taken aback by Damas's powerful words.

A third Precursor approached grandfather, father, and son, "_You make a wise point, Desert King, but this infant holds a power that could match our own, how can we leave that go unchecked?_"

For this, Damas had no answer, and turned to his son.

"Take the 'power' then. Just don't take him..." Jak said softly, but firm, holding back his weakening emotions.

The Precursors turned to each other and began to discuss with one another.

After a few moments of their deliberation and Jak's heart rate rapidly increasing until it was practically the only thing he could here, the first figure turned to Jak and was suddenly one foot in front of his face. _I could never stop them if they took him..._

"_We didn't expect this from you, Jak_."

"What?"

"_The way you recovered from your tortured darkness, the impregnable bonds of love and friendship that you were able to form in spite of everything that fell into your destiny...Between yourself and your son, Keira...and now, your father and mother...Such connections should never be broken. A mistake has been made on our part..._"

"So...You...You're not taking him away?" Jak asked like a child asking its mother.

"_No, Jak. You will live in peace now. The world will call on you no more..._"

The three Precursors drifted back to the rift from which they had sprung and with a flash of bright blue light, disappeared.

Jak fell to his knees in overwhelming relief and thankfulness. The crowd of over two thousand was silent, as was the Marauder/ metal-head fight below. They were all staring up at their King and Jak, not believe that they had just seen the ancient Precursors, the makers of their world.

"Holy-..." Daxter said, running up to Jak who was hunched over his cooing baby. "I think this would be a good time to call Keira..." the orange ottsel carefully snatched Jak's communicator from his pack and dialed Keira's number.

* * *

**A half-hour later...

* * *

**

Damas, Jak, Daxter and Trajan were joined in the Palace of Spargus by a very worried Keira and practically everyone they knew.

By Daxter's vague details of the situation over the communicator, everyone thought that Jak had been killed or something of that nature.

Keira all but tackled Jak when she saw that he was physically unharmed and sitting on the ground, his feet hanging in the cool water.

She gripped his blank face in her hands and stared at him, "Jak, what happened?"

"They tried to take him, but I wouldn't let them..." he replied almost dreamily.

"What? Who tried to take who?"

"Honey, it's a long, confusing, and pretty much unbelievable story, and Jakkie here is barely coherent from the whole experience," Daxter obnoxiously butted in.

"He just needs you and Trajan right now, Keira," Damas added comfortingly, leading everyone else down the elevator.

"Oh, Jak, will you never find a moment of normalcy?" Keira pulled him gently into a hug, careful not to squish their son between them.

"I did find it. With you and Trajan," he mumbled, forming a weak smile and hugging Keira back lovingly.

* * *

**Holy crapola! 9 pages! Sorry it took SO long...Spanish 3 and grad project has been dragging me down lately, pretty much just school in general. **

**So I hope this was a fitting ending to this, it only took me FOREVER to make this ending sound right. Please tell me what you think!!**

**Oh, and sorry I left a few things like Torn and Ashelin's issues hanging...if you really need closure let me know, I might add an epilogue or something. Thanks for reading! **


End file.
